One True Love
by Kanami
Summary: A/U: It is said that love is the greatest gift. But for Hermione it was a curse. Literally. 'Only a potion brewed from the blood of your one true love will you overcome this curse.' What the hell were her ancestors thinking?...HG/DM
1. I Won't Say I'm in Love

Disclaimer: Don't own them. Sad face.

A/N: Why hello thar, I have returned! After many years of hiatus because of college (deciding to double major in 2 of my fav subjects sucked up all my time). But I've graduated, and now have some more free time on my hands between work and other things in life :)

I'm going to be revising/extending the chapters I've written, to fix the things I missed before (since this was written while I was in high school), and provide more information on some of the things I may have neglected.

Thank you to those that have stuck by this story :)

IMPORTANT NOTE: **This is an AU environment.** Since this was written when I was in high school, I had only knowledge of books 1 through 4, and so I wrote according to the information I had. With that said, this revision that I'm working on will not extend past those first four books. I don't want to do a major overhaul (it would take too much rewrite; might as well write a whole new story if that's the case). So while it is set in their 7th year, it will involve a different take on the Dark Lord doing his thing-you know, being menacing in the shadows, plotting the end of the world, terrorizing the masses...and so on. The story will involve that facet of the Harry Potter-verse (because it would be stupid to just excise all that drama potential out), it just won't be my main focus. I intended for this to be a romantic comedy with a splash of drama.

I've also upgraded the rating because of the language I'll be using...

With that said, hope you guys enjoy :)

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**Chapter 1  
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~ I Won't Say I'm in Love ~

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Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she walked into the well air-conditioned haven that was the London Public Library. Removing her sunglasses, she took note that there seemed to be more people in the store then usual.

'_Probably hiding out from the sun as well,' _She mused. It was a nice day out...if one could overlook the fact that it was hot enough to cook eggs on the sidewalk. Hermione had ventured out of her house due to boredom, but after spending 20 minutes in the sweltering heat she came to the conclusion that any attempts at outdoor activities would only end in a painful sunburn and dehydration. Since there was nothing to do at home, she decided to find another place that would provide her with AC and entertainment; which was how she ended up at the library.

Hermione wandered through the aisles, hoping to find something interesting to entertain her afternoon with. Summer was quickly drawing to an end, even if the weather would not be deterred; soon fall would set in and school would begin. Thinking about the coming school year brought a small smile to her face; she was really looking forward to this coming year. After spending the last few years studying abroad, Hermione was glad to be spending her last year home, at Hogwarts with her friends.

She was distracted from her musings, as something neon-pink unwittingly caught her eye.

___Is He the One? A Guide to Finding Your One True Love._

She blinked as she read the bold white letters set upon a neon pink binding. And cringed._  
_

Taking stock of her surroundings, she realized that she had wandered into the only section of the library she had little fondness for. She groaned as unwanted memories and problems she didn't feel like dealing with at the moment began to surface. Her love life was a rather sore point for Hermione. It seemed that no matter how hard she tries, things just never work out. Unlike most girls who wonder if there's something wrong with them-only to be reassured by friends that it wasn't her, but them-,Hermione knew there was something wrong with her. Something unfortunate foisted on her by her ancestors, a residual effect of their stupidity.

Shaking herself out of the little depressing hole she was starting to dig in her mind, Hermione reached for the book, her face turning a light shade of pink. (It just seemed a little embarrassing.)

If any of her friends ever found out that she had to read such books, they'd probably choke to death from laughing too hard. Really, it wasn't her fault that she _had_ to read books like these. She needed all the help she could get; she would die without her one true love.

And no, this was not some romantic, sappy, corny, all fluffy bunnies and rainbows nonsense.

She would literally _die_.

_'That was a little too melodramatic.' _Hermione mused, coughing a bit to hide her laughter. After all, she was in public, and they probably wouldn't appreciate such disturbances as hysterical laughter; probably even less appreciated since she was in a library. She suppose that she should be out there in the scorching heat, in some skimpy bathing suit pretending to tan while trying to catch some guy's eye, but the thought of getting skin cancer while being ogled wasn't all at appealing. Although she really would like to find that "one true love" (sooner better then later) she wasn't at the point of going out and flashing random strangers. Yet.

She wasn't that desperate. _Yet_.

_'Oh Merlin's beard, I'm starting to sound like Lavander and Parvati.'_ She shuddered.

Hermione opened the book, and much to her amusement and disgust, the first line read:

_First things first. Men are visual animals, so when you're trying to gain his attention, he needs to see more then just you brains._

Hermione buried her head in the book hoping it would dampen her laughter and cover her red face. A few patrons walking by gave her an odd looked. She couldn't believe how people could ever read books like these and take them seriously. Obviously people were reading them, or else there wouldn't be so many of these books around (looking on the cover, apparently this one was a top seller). It just galled her to have to resort to reading these ridiculous things because her experience with that kind of love was practically nonexistent.

From the day she could understand speech, Hermione's mother and father had sat her down and told her of her condition and how she was cursed. She was glad that her parents hadn't kept her in the dark and then suddenly spring it on her during something cliche, like her 16th birthday.

At first, like all little girls, the notion of a Prince Charming coming to her rescue was a sweet dream. She fancied herself a damsel in distress and believed that if she was patient enough, her prince would come for her and they'd live happily ever after. But time tarnished the dream and as she grew older, she realized that no one was coming to her rescue. If she was to survive this, she had to do it herself. And thus she began her campaign to find out everything she could about her curse. But her time spent with the books didn't unearth anything she wasn't told of before. There weren't many books for her to read because most people thought it was a fanciful tale, an intriguing story of 2 lovers brought together.

But Hermione knew better.

Her ailment was lethal, but not incurable, although the method of curing it was rather peculiar. Refusing to believe that there was only one way to cure her disease-it might as well be one-, she had thrown herself into the world of books hoping to find another way to cure her curse in the vast sea of ink and papers. But after years and years of reading, she only emerged from the libraries with the same answer she was given before. "Only with the potion brewed with a drop of blood from your one true love's can you overcome this curse."

_'It almost sounds like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where only the kiss from her one true love could wake her.'_ Hermione mused. She wish it could be that simple. Getting a guy to kiss her would probably be easier then having to find the right guy and make a potion from his blood.

_' I sound like a vampire.'_ And to an extent she felt like one. _'I mean, who would ever go up to someone and say,_ "hey, I think you're my one true love. Now give me your blood." _That would go over well.'_ She snorted as she leafed though the pages. A superficial glace through the book showed that at least there was enough decent content in the book to be worth further reading, Hermione tucked the book under her arm and headed to the checkout desk.

Hermione tried to tamp down the blush she knew was probably rising to her face. She had been coming to the library to check out books like the one she held in her hand over the last few weeks. If she didn't look desperate, then she didn't know who could. Her situation wasn't looking any better as she neared to the checkout desk. The librarian raised a chalky eyebrow when she saw the title. She didn't say anything, but sent the book through the scanner and checked it out to Hermione. Thanking the librarian quickly, Hermione picked up the book and left.

. . .

" I'm home!" Hermione announced as she stood by the door to take off her shoes.

" Come here dear, we're in the kitchen." Mrs. Granger called out.

"Be right there Mum." Hermione ran up to her room to drop off her book. Then she dashed back down to join her parents in the kitchen. " So what's up?"

"Well, we received three Owls about an hour or so before you came home." Mrs. Granger handed the three envelopes to her daughter. "We assumed they were letters from your schools."

Hermione smiled as she took them from her mother. It was to be expected that each school she had attended would be sending her a letter to inquire about continuance of her education with them. Her parents had sent her to two other school for 1 year each, hoping that she would be able to find out more about her curse or even find her one true love there, but alas no such luck. She did enjoy studying abroad, learning new languages and meeting new people, but she always felt like there was something missing, like there was something at Hogwarts that couldn't be found anywhere else. This was going to be her 7th year, her last year, and so she wanted to spend it closer to home.

" I've decided to return to Hogwarts this year." Hermione said, pulling out the Hogwarts letter from the pile.

" We figured as much." Mr. Granger smiled. " Why don't you Owl back so that they'll know you're attending this fall."

" I will." Hermione grinned.

" Now go and get cleaned up before supper." Mrs. Granger shooed with a motherly smile.

" Alright." Hermione gave her mother and father both a quick kiss on the cheek and then left the kitchen.

After they watched their daughter leave the kitchen, Aaron Granger turned to give his wife a questioning look. " Shouldn't we tell her?" He didn't like keeping secrets from their daughter. Especially something that was vital to said daughter's life continuation.

" Don't worry so much, love, she'll be fine." Alice Granger said in a soothing voice, " Dumbledore has assured us that she'll find the cure before the end of this year at Hogwarts and I trust in his judgment. The rest of Hogwart staff will watch out for her as well. They'll give her ample opportunities to get to know the young man."

" I just hope we're doing the right thing." Aaron opened the fridge door and rummaged through the contents.

" We are. She might not know it yet, but she's already in love." Alice smiled, taking the slice of chocolate cake out of the hands of her disgruntled husband.

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Thanks for reading!


	2. If I Never Knew You

**A/N: **Hello all, the revision is going along smoothly :) Hopefully I'll have a new chapter out once everything has been sorted! I've also decided to hid a little Easter egg in my rework :) Hope you guys enjoy it.

Thanks for all the Reviews!

**Note:** I made up a school called Harthford because I needed another school for Hermione to attend, and it's obvious that she can't go to Durmstrang unless she crossdressed as a dude…as interesting as that could be, that's not the main story line here :D

Warning: This does not follow the timeline of the books (like how their seventh year is not steeped in Voldemort Mayham) Hence the AU notice in the story summery :P

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**Chapter 2  
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~ If I Never Knew You ~

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_9:50 a.m._

_Hmmm… naptime._ She yawned after checking her watch. She shouldn't have stayed up so late, but she was too excited to properly shut her eyes and get the rest she needed. Those chocolate covered coffee beans she consumed after dinner probably didn't help either.

Yawning again and rubbing her tired eyes, Hermione settled herself comfortably on the cushion closest to the window, making sure she could see outside, but no one could see her. She had gotten to the station earlier then normal. It wasn't because she was so excited to go back to school that she couldn't wait to wake up and board at normal hours...well, that was part of it, but it wasn't the exact reason. She didn't want any of her friends to see her before the induction ceremony tonight. She wanted to surprise them.

They were really supportive of her when she had to leave and study at Beauxbaton and Harthford (an American institute). While she was away, they'd constantly send her owls asking her about how she was doing and telling her about life at Hogwarts. The letters made her homesick, but they also warmed her heart with the knowledge that her friends had not forgotten about her, even when she was on the other side of the world.

Harry's letters were mostly about his latest Quidditch games or his most recent joint venture with Ron in their quest to turn the school upside down with their pranks.

Ron wrote about his latest pranks upon the Slytherin populace (Hermione had wondered many times when he'd grow out of the house prejudice) and his hate for studying, always going on and on about how he was wasting his life away in front of books. Typical Ron.

Ginny's letters were always more interesting, filled with the latest gossip and rumors that were spreading around the school. And most of the time, she would end her letters talking about Harry. Hermione knew about Ginny's major crush on Harry, and kept owling the younger girl and telling her to fess up. Which she did at the end of her 4th-year, and they've been dating since her 5th year.

Her roommates, Lavender and Parvati, had kept in touch as well, occasionally sending letters that were filled with the names of their current infatuation, or "the hunk of the week" as they called them.

And as usual, her friends had sent her an owl before the school year began. They wanted to know if she was going to attend Hogwarts this year. She had replied no, and while they were disheartened to hear she would not return to finish school with them, they still wished her well and hoped to see her during winter break.

Which was exactly what she wanted.

It wouldn't be a surprise if they expected it to happen, right? Right. Giggling at how cliché she sounded, she closed her eye and doze off, letting the gentle hum of the train lull her to sleep.

. . .

Draco Malfoy walked into the station with his luggage in tow. It was only 10:05 and too damn early to be out of bed, let alone at the station. He didn't know why his parents insisted that he get there so early. Oh right, his father said something about leaving early for Germany and his mother said along the lines of being a role model because he was Head Boy. Neither made much sense to Draco who was half awake and half asleep when they apparated from Malfoy manor and dumped him off at the station.

Grumbling, he made his way towards the front of the train where the Head compartment was located.

_'Have to find a place to sleep'_ Draco yawned. Being the Head Boy had its perks. He could get some sleep in before dealing with the rest of the populace. He was just too tired to even summon up a good scowl. In his current state, he couldn't even scare a first year, and that would ruin his reputation. He was lucky that at this time in the morning, the Head compartment would be empty...

. . .

Someone was approaching.

It was the first thought that surfaced in Hermione's fuzzy mind when she heard the steady thump of shoes down the hall. Through the haze of sleep, she tried to cast an invisibility charm, but the words came out half mumbled, half said, resulting in no spell coming into fruition. Well time for plan B: hiding her head under some pillows was going to have to suffice. She felt like an ostrich, but hey, she liked their philosophy at the moment, _' if I can't see the them, then they can't see me_'.

If only that were true . . .

. . .

Draco didn't expect to find anyone on the Train, let alone in the Head compartment this early, but to his tired annoyance, there was. "What the hell." He mumbled as he walked over to the prone figure. A pillow was covering the head, and so he had no clue as to who was lying there. But he was going to find out. Reaching down, he grabbed the pillow and yanked on it. The individual obviously had a pretty strong grip, but he wasn't deterred. He gave another strong yank, and the pillow came flying towards him. So did the person.

"Ahhh!"

"Oof!" They both groaned as they crashed to the floor, knocking the breath out of each other.

Draco was the first to regain his ability to breathe. Rubbing the back of his head where it had impacted the floor, he tried to sit up but realized that there was something weighing him down on his stomach. He looked down and frowned.

Hermione managed a weak groan as she began to regain her breath. She had smacked her forehead on what she assumed was the floor. Along with her burning lungs, she was sure a headache would soon make its grand appearance, probably a bruise too. '_The floor sure is warm.._.' Deciding to get up so she wasn't crushing her lungs, she opened her eyes. The first thing that registered was a pair of ice-blue eyes. She froze like a deer caught in headlights.

" Well, what a surprise." Draco raised an eyebrow as he stared down at her, his previous irritation dissolving slightly. " I didn't know you wanted me that badly, Granger."

" Please, as much as I want the plague." Hermione shot back as she hurriedly pushed herself away from him. She knew she had to be blushing multiple shades of red. Why did it have to be Malfoy, of all people?

Quickly assessing the "damages" from her fall, she was relieved that everything was alright. Her breathing was still a bit uneven, and her legs didn't seem to want to hold her weight, but other then that she felt fine.

The curse was a pain. And she meant it literally.

Because of it, she was often sick and prone to mild chest pains if her heart was stimulated suddenly. It had been like this since she was born. It baffled many doctors because her heart was normal and healthy, and many exam of her body showed no anomalies in her physical health. But the sickness and chest pains persisted, and thus before she was 6 she spent most of her time at home.

It was were her love of books began.

To keep her entertained, her mother had started teaching her how to read when she was 4. Hermione took to it like fish to water, and together mother and daughter spent countless hours going on adventures from their living room couch.

But even when she was content with just having her books to keep her company, her parents wanted her to have friends and be able to play with them outside in the sun. And so when Hermione was a little older (at the age to enter first grade), her parents enrolled her in physical conditioning therapy and started her on a weekly potions regime. The therapy helped strengthen her muscles and gave her more endurance, and the potions keep the sickness at bay. It didn't cure her completely, but it made it bearable.

Not wanting to show him any form of weakness, she straightened herself to her full height and glared down at Draco who was still on the floor. He looked different since she had last seen him. His eyes were a darker shade of blue, but with the same cold, calculating chill that made him the Slytherin he is. His face had lost its cherub roundness in favor of more sculpted features. His hair was now almost platinum blond and shorter then she remembered. It wasn't slick back, but left loose so that it fell slightly in his face. Combined with the tilt of his lips, he looked pretty attra-...She froze.

Catching her eyes on him, Draco smirked as he stood up, " Like what you see?"

" As if." Hermione, slightly shaken, knew it was a weak comeback. Judging by the widening of his stupid grin, he knew it too. She wanted to throttle him.

. . .

Pissing her off was still just as entertaining as it was 2 years ago, Draco realized.

He was further amused by the increased fire in her eyes as he gave her a once over. She was a little taller, but still only managing to reach his chin, and her face had become a little more pointed. Her eyes had darkened into a deep amber hue and her hair had managed to be tamed into mild curls about her shoulder. The changes were subtle, but it wasn't as if he had expected her to become a raging beauty during her time away. That would have been too cliche.

" Like what you see?" Hermione felt a little shiver go up her spine at his perusal.

" Wouldn't you like to know." Draco chuckled, moving himself into the chair Hermione had previously occupied.

_The nerve!_ Hermione gaped at him as he made himself home on the her armchair.

" Close your mouth. You look like a dead fish." Draco gave a dry chuckle. Arranging the pillows behind him, he leaned back and made himself more comfortable.

This made Hermione's eyebrow twitch. _'Still a cocky little ferret eh? Maybe I should turn him into a newt, give him a change of breed.'_ She was really tempted to do so, but feared retaliation. They were in a closed compartment _together_ and she would have no place to hide if he decided to hex her into oblivion. _' Why don't I put that thought on hold?'_

Seeing as he wasn't going to leave anytime soon, she thought she'd better say something before he makes himself too much at home. " What are you doing here? Don't you know this is the Head cabin?"

" Precisely. Why are you here?" he regarded her through half closed lids.

" I have the right to be here." Hermione gave him an annoyed look. " I'm Head Girl."

" I'm Head Boy." He stated in a lazy manner. ' _God. Why can't that damn woman shut up? I want sleep!_' He didn't have the energy to deal with her harping right now.

_"How could they do this to me?"_Hermione thought with despair. Why didn't they tell her that she was going to be working with the devil? '_Probably thought I'd run for the hills if I knew it would be him.'_

" Now go find something to amuse yourself with and quit gabbing." Draco waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. He wanted peace and she was disturbing it.

" Don't tell me what to do." Hermione growled, contemplating on taking the pillow lying on the floor and smothering his pretty face in with it...wait did she just think...

" It's too early to deal with your screeching." Draco sighed, closing his eyes, a clear signal of dismissal.

" You're insufferable, I got here first." She huffed, walking up next to him, the pillow still in hand. It was so tempting...

" Well, I'm quite comfortable here and so moving is not an option for me, it's either you leave or you shut up. Take your pick." He yawned again.

" I am not leaving." Hermione sat down on the chair at the other end of the compartment.

" Suit yourself." She could throw herself out the window for all he cared, just as long as he could get some peace. That was his last conscious thought before he fell asleep, leaving a bemused Hermione to contemplate what had just occurred.

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To be Continued...


	3. Here Beside Me

A/N: Third chapter has been reworked! Things seem to be going smoothly :) There is however a bit more AUish things happening, but just bear with me. Some things here that aren't explained will be a little later :)

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**Chapter 3  
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~ Here Beside Me ~

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_Tree...tree...tree...tree...flock of birds...tree...tree...treetreetreetreetree._Hermione sighed_,_ feeling the monotony of her current activity.

There was nothing except trees, trees and **more** **trees**, with the occasional flock of birds shooting by. Watching them zip away from view so quickly was making her eyes tired and droopy. She had never tried surviving the whole trip without talking to anyone. Usually if she wasn't sitting with Ron or Harry (or she had been driven away by their testosterone driven arguments), she would be with Ginny and other Gryffindor girls. The trip was long and tedious, and without company, one could get bored very easily, very fast. The train had been running for about 2 hours now, and during that time frame she's had nothing to do except for read or stare out at the passing scenery. Not a very exciting way to pass time.

However it was more preferred to then dealing with Malfoy.

She was rather miffed that he could still irritate her so easily. She wanted to blame it on the shock of seeing him, of him being the first person from Hogwarts she met upon her return.

But that would be cowardly, and far from being true.

He had always been able to get under her skin.

While most of the irritation she felt could be explained away by the fact that he was a mean lil' bugger to her in their younger days (the name calling and him picking fights whenever they crossed paths definitely did not endear him to her) there was something else, something unique to him that disturbed her inner calm.

It was apparent from the first day they met that this friction would exist. He hated her so called "dirty blood" and she hated his high society, pureblood BS. It was like oil and water forced into the same container. Always touching, but never mixing...Speaking of touch...

_Do not want to go there! _Heat crept up her cheeks as she tried to banish that last thought from her head. But it was too late.

It had taken her a while to realize that throughout the whole exchange he had not called her _that_ name. While she had no desire to hear it, it did seem rather odd that he wasn't abusing it like he used to. He had irritated her with his taunts and jabs, but that was it. There was no professor around to reprimand him, her friends weren't around to hex him, and it wasn't as if she would have hexed him herself and risk getting into trouble. So why?

One thought led to another and soon she found herself blushing. She had remembered how he'd felt under her hands when they had fallen on the floor. It was brief, but it was hard to ignore the fact that she had felt his abs through his shirt when she pushed off of him.

Groaning, she buried her warm face in her hands. This wasn't the first time she thought he was attractive; she'd have to be blind not noticed he had very good genetics.

However, as she discovered on the first day she met him, his visual appeal quickly deprecated once he opened his mouth.

_. . .  
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Draco sat up and stretched, the extra sleep did wonders for his mood.

He looked around for the harpy, preparing for battle. He found her in the armchair by the window, curled up with her back towards him.

" Hey, Granger." He called, but got no answer. Figuring that she was probably asleep, he decided to ignore her presence for the time being. He wasn't up to another round of verbal violence. The way he sees it is, she was less vicious in her current state.

Standing up to stretch his legs he happened to glance at the floor near her chair. It wasn't so much the presence of the book that caught his attention, it was the title, shouting out at him from a sea of florescent pink, ___Is He the One? A Guide to Finding Your One True Love_.

He blinked.

Caught between the urge to

But his curiosity got the better of him. He picked up the book and opened it.

_Checked out to: _

_Hermione Granger _

_July 14._

An amused cough left his lips, as he fumbled with the book. He had almost dropped it in his surprise. That was not what he expected to see.

He was thinking more along the lines of Pansy or some other prissy girl's name. No, he was not expecting to see Granger's name in the book. Not at all. But he got over the surprise pretty quickly as plan formulated in his mind. This would be the perfect opportunity to accomplish the task appointed to him by the Headmaster.

Just thinking about it brought a scowl to his face.

He was quite reluctant to agree to it at first, but soon it became clear to him that he didn't have a choice in the matter.

And he was right.

They had wrangled his Head of House to _convince_ him (he was sure Snape was coerced into it somehow) that he was to perform the task given to him or forfeit his Head Boy status. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but he felt like he was getting played.

But he wasn't going to give up his position as Head Boy over something so asinine.

He had mulled over how to accomplish their request over the summer. If it were anyone else but Granger, such a request would have been easy to accomplish, with minimum effort on his part even. But alas, it had to be the Gryffindor Princess and that made it ten times as hard.

But now it seems like an opportunity has presented itself and he was going to utilize it to his advantage. He didn't know what the professors were planning, but he was going to keep a weary eye out for it.

Back to the task at hand.

_Didn't know Granger read these type of books. _Draco's grin was like that of a Cheshire cat. It just never would have occurred to him that someone as prim and proper as one Miss Hermione Granger would read something of this caliber. But then again, it was Hermione Granger and she was an avid believer of reading up on _everything_.

_Having trouble finding love huh? _he chuckled silently to himself. He just couldn't help it. Deciding to see what was in it, he flipped to a random page and read the first line, _" It is not often, but sometimes men will resort to the elementary school tactic; he makes fun of you because he likes you."_. He laughed out loud before he could stop himself.

That woke up Hermione.

Blinking a few time to adjust to the light, she turned to see Draco standing next to her chair. She was only confused for a moment before horror filled her eyes and a bright blush followed. She reached up and tried to take the book away, but he was quicker and held the book above his head like some sort of damn trophy.

" What the hell are you doing?" she growled. _Oh damn, must have forgotten to put it back into my bag. Stupid, stupid, stupid! _Hermione berated herself as she glared up at him.

" I was just curious about what type of books studious pupils like yourself read." Draco said with a straight face, but his lips cracked into a grin only a few seconds after the words left them.

" That's none of your business." She huffed, trying to keep the embarrassment out of her tone.

His devious look crossed his face.

Hermione flinched. This wasn't good. He was the last person she would ever want to find out about this. _Oh god. I might as well announce it to the whole school myself._ Blast! If the school gets a hold of this, she'd never live it down. Her reputation would be in tatters if not completely demolished. Double blast!

" Never knew you were that desperate, Granger." He stared down at her, thoroughly enjoying the fire that lit in her eyes. She was at his mercy now.

He was standing too close to the chair. She couldn't get out of the chair to stand up and meet his eyes on a level plane. That was a major disadvantage on her part, and she wasn't going to settle for it. " You blasted git, quit towering over me so I can get up. Or are you afraid of facing me eye to eye."

" Don't flatter yourself." Draco snorted, taking a large step back from the chair.

That had to be the second time during the same day that he had said not used _it_ against her when she was insulting him. Slightly put off guard by his easy compliance to her demand, she quickly got out of the chair and puffed herself up to her full height. Which was ridiculous considering that it didn't make any difference since she still had to crane her head up to look at him. Even in a relaxed posture he was still a whole head taller then her.

The scowl on her face deepened.

" There, are you satisfied?" His sarcasm was hard to miss.

" Whatever." Hermione did her best to sound indifferent. He must be up to something.

" Now that we are eye to eye, as you put it, I must ask you one thing." The impious grin was back in place.

" What?" She snapped. She could see eternal embarrassment was waving at her just beyond the horizon.

" Are you having problems with your love life?" He actually managed to get the whole sentence out without breaking into laughter in between.

" So what if I have?" Hermione said, a scathing expression set on her face. " Not everyone is blessed with your ability to attract people."

" Ah, so you find me attractive do you?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

" No, I was just merely stating the fact that you attract people. I did not say what quality they might be." Hermione replied coolly.

" Ah, what big claws you have." Draco smirked.

" The better to rip out your eyes with, my dear." Hermione replied in a fake sweet tone.

" Of course I can remove those claws." Draco grinned evilly, reminding Hermione that he still had the book in his hands.

" Give me back my book," She said holding out her hand. When he didn't give her the book she tried another tactic. Keeping her voice smooth as possible she continued, " Unless of course you think you're going to need it for yourself, then I'll gladly lend it to you."

" I have no use for the book. As you so kindly pointed out, I have a natural ability to attract people." Draco returned. Then he gave her a feral grin that made her want flinch. " No, I don't need the book. I just want to use it as blackmail."

" So the snake has finally revealed his true form." Hermione growled. She knew he would do something like this. " What? Can't get people to comply with you if you don't blackmail them first?"

" It just gives me an added edge." Draco wasn't going to let her throw him off kilter. He was going to keep hold of his advantage and his temper.

" A true Slytherin at work." Hermione said with distain. This was not going well. She wanted to piss him off to distract him, but obviously he was smarter then he looked. Or so it seems.

" I'll take that as a compliment." Draco was obviously enjoying Hermione's failing attempts to make him mad. He knew what she was trying to do, and wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of accomplishing it.

" I will make you a deal." He quirked a golden eyebrow at her. " I'll keep my mouth shut about this incident if you do me a favor."

" And why would Mr. Hotshot need a favor from lil o' me?" Hermione looked at him warily, a niggling feeling of uneasiness coming over her. The day was just getting stranger and stranger.

Thinking back, he didn't act too surprised to see her, not that she cared much, but a normal person would at least show a bit of surprise.

Something must be going on.

" Just think of it as me doing you a favor by keeping my mouth shut and you repaying me for the generosity." He said giving her an amused smirk.

" Indeed, how kind of you." Hermione retorted sarcastically. " What favor is it?" Her imagination was having a field day with all the possibilities of "favors" he could ask from her. And none of them were very pleasant to say the least.

" I need a kiss from you."

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To be Continued...


	4. Kiss the Girl

A/N: And so starts the swearing (hence the M rating). Strong language ahead. Beware virgin ears.

Major overhaul of this chapter took me a few days., hopefully it was worth it :D

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**Chapter 4**

~ Kiss the Girl ~

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" Excuse me?" Hermione stared at him, wide-eyed. Did she hear him right?

" A kiss." Draco reaffirmed, looking down at her dumbfound expression.

" A...kiss..." She uttered slowly, as if the words were foreign to her.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Draco nodded.

Her mind was blown. Totally, utterly boggled. Of all the things she anticipated him asking for, it had not included _that_. Because really, why would _that_ have ever been an option?

She continued to stare at him blankly.

_For the love of god. _Draco muttered under his breath, what was so hard to comprehend?

" But why?" Hermione was having trouble wrapping her mind around the idea.

" Why not?" Draco was now starting to get annoyed. " If you do this, I'll keep your secret."

" Why a kiss?" Hermione felt panic slowly well up. " Can't it be something else?"

" Why _can't_ it be a kiss?" Draco resisted the urge to just grab her and get it done with. Why was she arguing about one kiss? It's not like he asked for her fucking virginity. If she was still one...Not that he cared of course.

" Why does it _have_ to be?" Hermione shot back. This situation was ridiculous. His request was ridiculous. What could he possibly have to gain from kissing her? Judging by the way he was glaring at her, she was sure it wasn't to satisfy his male hormonal urges (not that she was disillusioned to think he had any thoughts of her that way). And he said it in such a bland, bored tone, he might as well have been commenting about the weather.

What was he trying to achieve?

Then it clicked.

He wanted more blackmail fodder. " Oh, I know what you're doing. You're going to use the kiss as another blackmail against me!"

Draco growled with frustration. How does that crazy woman's mind work? " I am not going to use it as a blackmail against you!"

" I'm not that gullible." Hermione huffed indignantly. Like she would fall into such an obvious trap.

" It would look just as bad for me as it would for you if someone found out we kissed." Draco ground out. "My house would be out for your blood after they burn me at the stake."

_Dramatic much? _" Then why do you want the kiss? What are you trying to prove?" Hermione took one step towards him and poked him in the chest. She was just as irritated as he seems to be at the moment.

" That's none of your business. I proposed my favor. End of discussion." Draco swatted her hand away, internally cursing Dumbledore for putting him in this awkward position.

_Flashback  
_

_Draco stared at Dumbledore.  
_

_"Come again?"_

Did the old man just ask him to kiss Granger?

_" As you are now aware, Ms. Granger has accepted the position of Head Girl for this coming year." The Headmaster stroked his beard, a slight smile upon his lips as he continued, " I know there's a history between you and Ms. Granger, and with the long-standing rivalry between your houses, this could be a difficult year."  
_

___Draco nodded dumbly. I____t was no secret that he and Granger had not gotten along (putting it mildly). While he was _surprised by the news of her being Head Girl (wondering how that miracle occurred since she hadn't been at Hogwarts for the past 2 years) that was not what was important right now.  


___"B__ut it is my hope that as leaders to your peers, both of you can put to rest your past animosities and work together," He did not like the twinkle in the Headmaster's eyes, "a_s the muggle saying goes, kiss and make up."  


___He resisted the urge to twitch.  
_

___Yup, the old man was really asking him to kiss Granger. _

___FML.  
_

_End  
_

_. . .  
_

" Do you accept or not?" Draco sighed, coming out of his not so pleasant recollection.

" How do I know you'll keep your word?" Hermione narrowed her eyes suspiciously. " What assurance do I have that you will keep your end of the bargain?"

" Your words wound me." Draco clutched at his heart in a theatrical gesture. "Would a face like this lie?"

" It probably does all the god damn time." Hermione remarked dryly, "Your house is famed for their ability to lie with a straight face."

" I'll take that as a complement." He was inwardly amused to hear her swear. Who knew? "As for the deal, you'll just have to trust me to honor my word." The unspoken challenge hung between them, _Do you dare?_

_Could I do it?_ She thought pensively. It would be a big risk to trust him, as neither of them have ever given each other a reason to believe otherwise. Their relationship (if one could call it that) was built upon their dislike of one another and furnished with the prejudice of their family and peers.

She frowned.

Maybe she was being unfair. After all, 2 years have passed since they had last interacted with each other. Maybe it was presumptuous of her to assume that he was still the same boy she went to school with those years ago. A bit of shame crept in as she realized that maybe she was the one holding on to old prejudices. Sure, since their initial meeting at the train station a few hours ago, he had been a prat, teasing her and getting on her nerves, but so far he had not once used the word _mudblood_.

Maybe she was being too hard on him.

" Don't take all day." Draco was getting impatient, why was she making this so difficult?

" You better keep up your end of the bargain." Hermione gave him a wary glance, a slight blush suffusing her features as she realized she was agreeing to his terms. There was no turning back.

" I will." Draco hoped she was done with the interrogation.

" Alright, lets get it over with." Hermione tried to sound casual, but couldn't keep the nervous note out of her voice. She'd never kissed anyone, not that she was going to tell him. While she had gone on a few dates, she'd never gotten past just hand holding and a goodnight kiss upon the cheek.

Maybe that's why she was still single.

She knew that intimacy was to be expected when you date, but for some unexplainable reason (thought she was starting to suspect it had something to do with her curse) anytime her dates tried for her lips, she would get a feeling of unrest-and mild disgust-resulting in her turning her face and stammering an excuse.

Slightly alarmed by her thought, she wondered if this was going to turn out alright. If she had such problems kissing her dates before (whom she actually liked), would she be able to go through with kissing Malfoy? Wryly she wondered if maybe she thought of rainbows and kittens, she would just tune it all out and it'd be fine.

Seeing that he hadn't moved from his position, she decided to make the first move and close the distance between them. She wanted this to be over with so she could go back to her corner and pretend it had never happened. Not to mention the longer they stood there staring at each other, the more unsettling thoughts seem to worm into her mind. " Well are we going to do this or not?"

" Can't wait to get some of me?" Draco smirked, watching her face alight with anger. She was so easy to rile. He had been amused by her attempt at seeming unaffected. It was obvious by the blush that suffused her face she was anything but.

" Ugh, why you arrogant little—" Hermione never got to finish the insult. His lips descended down upon her's and effectively sealed her outrage. She stood there, temporarily stunned by the fact that his lips were on hers. She didn't know how to respond and so she just stood there with her eyes closed and lips closed.

_Rainbows, ponies, kittens, oh my.  
_

_. . ._

This was easily turning out to be the worst kiss he's ever had.

There was no contact between them, other then their touching lips, but Draco could feel the tension rolling off of her in waves. Her lips were sealed so tightly it was as if someone had waxed them shut.

He frowned, but made no move to change their current dynamic. This was not a kiss for pleasure, but a means to an end.

But as the seconds ticked by, he wondered if it was a wasted opportunity; how often was he going to get this close to Granger without her trying to claw his face off? His mind drifted, thinking that maybe he should try and make it a more enjoyable experience, at least for himself. Slightly perturbed, he broke away quickly.

As he leaned back to put some distance between them, he noted the strained look set on her face, her eyes still closed.

It shouldn't bother him that she found their kiss unpleasant. He surely didn't find it that good.

So why did he feel like he just lost some man points?

. . .

Kissing Draco Malfoy was not all it was hyped up to be.

It wasn't disgusting by any means. But neither had it been the most amazing thing she's ever experienced. In fact, it wasn't much of anything, so bland it could probably have been mistaken for a greeting between family members.

Hermione found that disappointing.

Contrary to the popular belief that she lived under a pile of books, Hermione had always been well informed on Hogwarts gossip. It was one of those things that came with being friends with one Ginerva Weasley and one Lavender Brown.

Also she would have had to be _blind and deaf_ not to notice the way girls swoon over his looks and gossiped about his prowess. _Well that sucked._

" What?"

Hermione startled. Had she said it out loud? A quick glance at his face told her she had. _Shit._

Panic began to well up as she tried to play it cool, " I mean, now that we're done, I'm going to return to my seat."

The scowl on his face darkened, an obvious sign that he was not buying it.

Then a sudden dread filled her as realization set in:

He had taken her words as a challenge.

_Oh fu-_

Her breath hitched as he hauled her up against him none-too-gently, trapping her arms between them. Heat rose up her face at their intimate position; the warm, hard chest she felt beneath her hands (second time today) only made it worse. Unable to trust her face or her voice not to betray how affected she was by his closeness, she stayed silent and stared at his green-and-silver-striped tie.

She was so screwed.

. . .

His body had reacted before his brain could have a say, and by the time he realized he was pulling her to him, it was too late.

Draco growled with frustration.

He knew Hermione hadn't meant to say it out loud; her panicked look and lame cover up told him as much. So why had he not let the sleeping dog lie? If he had just ignored the unintentional slip, they would both already be on their merry way to pretending it never happened.

Instead, he gave in to his bruised ego's demand (it was malcontent with his piss-poor performance), resulting in the cuddly-cuddly position with Granger.

The gods were surely having a good laugh at his expense.

Well he made his bed, so he was going to be a man and lie in it.

Schooling his features, Draco purposely pitched his voice into the condescending drawl he knew would irritate her, " It sucked you say? Well I guess, I'll just have to teach you how to properly kiss."

Predictably her head snapped up, a heated glare and a scathing comment at the ready.

For the second time that day, his lips descended upon hers.

And for the second time that day, Hermione froze up like a statue. But this time Draco was prepared.

Using one arm to tighten his hold around her waist, Draco trailed his other hand up Hermione's back-eliciting a surprised gasp in the process-and buried it in her hair. Taking advantage of her slightly parted mouth, he teased her with a few slow strokes of his tongue across her bottom lip before deepening the kiss. A satisfy grin spread across his lips as he felt her sag against him, her hands clutching his shirt in a vice grip. Applying a little pressure where his hands were fisted in her hair, he tilted her head further back to give him better access.

Hermione clung to him, secretly glad that he had such a tight hold around her waist. If he hadn't anchored her to his chest, she was sure she would have ended up a graceless pile on her floor where she stood. The sinful way his tongue was playing with her mouth made her knees feel like jello; coupled with the light strokes of his hands along her scalp, she was a goner.

The jar of the train as it took a sharp turned broke them apart.

Stepping back on unsteady legs, a hand up to her lips, Hermione stared at him with wide eyes. Her breathing was still uneven, as the shock of being kissed so thoroughly still coursed through her. What had just happened?

Draco had faired a bit better, being that it was not the first time he's kissed a girl. But that didn't mean he was unaffected by their exchange. He had gone in with the plan to show her that he knew how to kiss, that their first encounter was not a good indicator of his skills. But somehow it had morphed into something else, something he was not going to analyze at the moment.

Awkward silence ensued as both parties stood there, reluctant to be the first to speak. What was there to talk about? What could they say that wouldn't make it more awkward then it already was?

Finally unable to take any more of the stifling silence, Hermione mumbled an excuse about bathrooms and shuffled away with as much dignity as her jelly legs would allow. Draco said nothing as he watched her go.

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To be Continued.

** Hopefully the format has not made this too difficult to read. I know I switch between essentially 2 POVs, but I thought it'd be nice to see some of those moments through Draco's view, rather then just Hermione's. I won't be doing this too often, since it does kinda Thanks for reading.


	5. Ever Ever After

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**Chapter 5**

~ Ever Ever After ~

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She was staring out at the passing scenery again.

Malfoy had either fallen asleep or was doing an impressive job playing possum over in his chair. Either way, she was glad he was no longer invading her personal space. She needed time to think, to process what the hell had just happened.

He had kissed her, **really** kissed her. And if she was honest with herself, she didn't know how she felt about it. She should have felt violated, after all she had only agreed to the kiss because of blackmail, but with how sterile of a kiss it was, she had felt more annoyed then anything else. She was frustrated, if not a little pissed that her first experience was a bust. And maybe her subconscious had wanted to spite him, which could explain why she seem to have accidentally spoke her thought out loud.

And irritate him she did, except for she didn't count on him taking it as a challenge.

Her face heated up at the memory, and she absently wondered if her face was now permanently tinged pink with all the blushing she had done in the past hour.

**That** was a kiss.

As cliche as it sounded, it made her breath catch and her knees weak. She chalked it up to it being her first **real** kiss (she decided that the other one shouldn't count), and so that must be the reason why she was so affected. It seemed a reasonable reaction considering: 1) he was a man, 2) he was attractive (she had long since given up denying that fact), and 3) he had kissed her so thoroughly she wouldn't be forgetting it any time soon.

And that worried her.

She had not been prepared to see him on the train, which was pretty stupid now that she thought about it. She had been informed that he was Head Boy; Dumbledore had included it in the letter listing her Head Girl duties. Yet it had totally slipped her mind, and she could only blame herself for the embarrassing spectacle that followed.

When she had first decided to return to Hogwarts, all she thought about were her friends and the school year to come. It hadn't occurred to her to think about the other aspects of her former school life; the bullying and the bullies.

Her mother had always told her to ignore bullies as it was the best way to get them to lose interest. She reasoned that if they can't get a rise out of you, it usually becomes no fun for them, and they'll turn their attention elsewhere. It had served her well during primary school, when she would often get picked on for being overly eager to learn. It was no different when she entered Hogwarts, with people finding her enthusiasm for learning something of an anomaly to be made fun of (among other things). She employed the same ignore strategy and for the most part it worked just dandy.

Except when it came to Draco Malfoy.

If being annoying was a money making talent, he would've been filthy rich (well richer then he had been) by the time they were fourteen. He got under her skin like no one else could, and no matter how hard she tried to ignore him, she couldn't get rid of him. It was only when she had left to study abroad did she finally get away from his persistant presence.

She mused at the irony of it. He was the last person she would have wanted to see, and yet he was the first one she meets upon her return. The gods were surely having a good laugh at the drama they've created.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. She really need to stop thinking about this; stop thinking about him. Her feelings were all in a jumble, and continuing on her current path of thought was only exacerbating. She glared at the figure sprawled out across from her, silently cursing him for being the cause of her consternation. She didn't have time for all this confusion, especially towards someone she had never considered to be a candidate.

It was a cold reminder of her condition.

She had always thought falling in love would be a lavish affair, full of gallant men rescuing damsels in distress by slaying dragons and whatnot, like those Disney movies she loved. Well, realistically it would have been a little less epic.

When she was little, she had fancied the idea that a prince in shining armor would come and save her like in _Snow White_ and _Sleeping Beauty_. Watching those movies gave her hope of finding her own true love despite the odds.

But of course that never happened.

Instead she was forced to scour the universe for that "one true love" to keep herself from dying at age 30.

She hated it.

She never wanted to be forced into love. That wasn't romantic at all. And because of her curse, she developed a dislike for movies that ended happily ever after. It wasn't that she didn't want happy endings, it was more because she couldn't believe in them anymore. The only movie she kept close to her heart was _Beauty and the Beast._ She felt that she could relate.

Like the Beast, she was cursed to die and only her one true love could save her.

. . .

_Alice and Aaron Granger looked at each other nervously as they sat down next to their daughter who was happily watching __Beauty and the Beast._

_" Mummy, look! She kissed him and he turned into a person!" 4-year-old Hermione giggled, pointing at the screen. " He found his true love!"_

_" That's great honey." Alice couldn't help but smile at her daughter's enthusiasm. But her smile waned as she turned to her husband, " Do we have to tell her now? She's so young."_

_" We can't keep it from her forever. You should know that best." Aaron said in a comforting tone. " She's a smart girl. She'll do fine. The sooner we tell her, the sooner she'd get started."_

_" You're right." Alice sighed and looked at her daughter once more, " Hermione dear, turn off the telly. Mummy and daddy have something important to tell you."_

_Hermione did as she was told and flipped off the telly. She went over to the VCR and ejected the tape. She carefully removed the tape and laid it down gently in its box, as if it were glass._

_To most, it was just an ordinary children's videotape, but to her it was a treasure._

_After making sure that the tape was put away properly, she went and sat down on the sofa between her parents. She looked up at them with wide adoring eyes. That was almost her parent's undoing. " What are you going to tell me? Are you getting me a horsey?"_

_" Hermione, we have no place to put a horse." Aaron laughed as he ruffled his daughter's curly hair. " We're going to tell you a story."_

. . .

They called it the Romantic's Curse. Lovely name isn't it?

She couldn't help but scoff at the irony. It wasn't romantic to say the least. There was no room for romance in the damn curse, just the mad rush to find that one person branded your "one true love" and drink their blood hoping to save your own life.

Oh how _romantic_.

Love shouldn't be rushed, but because of her ancestors' weird notion of love, she was stuck with their "gift".

. . .

_England, 1812_

_The Lafayette name was well respected in Wizarding world. Their bloodline was so old it could be traced back to the birth of magic in men. It was something they were rather proud of. __Their heir was Lucilla Marie Lafayette, a young, headstrong woman of twenty-two and currently one of the top Aurors in the Ministry of Magic._

_As a child, Lucilla wanted for nothing. Anything her heart desired, she got delivered on a silver platter. To the world, her life was perfect._

_But she was miserable._

_Her parents were almost never home, choosing to attend social balls and preen at parties over spending time with their only daughter, even on her birthday. They loved her, but only with their money._

_And she hated it._

_She grew to resent her home, and once she left to attend Hogwarts, she never returned. However her parents never noticed, thinking that their daughter was just too busy studying to come home. They were so proud of her._

_Upon graduation, she applied to be an Auror with the Department of Magical Law Enforcment at the Ministry. After 2 years, she managed (with her own merit, as she **made sure **that there was NO special treatment because of her family name) to ascend to vice commander in the sub division, Investigations Department. __She was happy with where she was in life._

_But apparently it wasn't to last. _

_When she turned 21, her mother, Muriel Luise Lafayatte decided that she had enough years to herself and began pressuring her to marry._

_She despised the idea of being a bound housewitch for some stupid nobleman. She wanted to have power over the course of her life and marriage was the bane of her existence. No matter how hard her mother tried to shove Lucilla into the marriage market, she steadfastly refused every match._

_In the mean time, the Lafayette family was also in a feud with the Morgan family. It was a feud that dated back so long ago that both families had no idea why they hated each other. All they knew was that their ancestors hated each other and so they must hate each other. It was generally stupid, but they abide by it for a lack of better things to do._

_The Morgan family bloodline was an ancient one as well. They had a son, Elliot, in Ministry Administration, who also refused marriage matches left and right. He was the sole heir to the Morgan name and thus it was crucial that he married and produced an heir to carry on the family name. His persistent refusal was endangering the Morgan lineage and his family wasn't one to stand for it._

_As Elliot aged, his parents got even more worried about the soon-to-be extinct Morgan name. The rest of the family was not going to let him lead the Morgan clan into extinction and so they devised all sorts of plans to get him to marry and beget an heir. They tried everything things from love potions to arranged marriages, but he managed to evade them all._

_Then something happened to change all that._

_Catherine Perete-Lafayette, Lucilla's Grandmere, hired a gypsy to cast a spell on the stubborn girl, hoping to make her more willing to marry. Gypsies were generally not well looked upon in the Wizarding society because of their bold skirts and association with muggles, but the Lafayettes were desperate. And desperate times call for desperate measures._

_At the same time, Eleanor Williams-Morgan, Elliot's Grandmother, hired a gypsy as well for the same purpose._

_Unbeknownst to Catherine and Eleanor, they hired the same gypsy for the same job._

_Gwendolyn the Gypsy was quite a character. She had a fondness for causing mischief and so naturally she took both jobs with great enthusiasm. She, like everyone else, knew of the feud between the Morgans and Lafayettes and decided to have some fun. It was a perfect opportunity for her to try out the Romantic's Curse (something she had just invented); after all, she was a romantic at heart and matchmaking was her expertise._

_Gwendolyn cursed Lucilla and said to her, " Only with a potion brewed from a drop of your true love's blood can you overcome this curse." To Elliot, she merely casted a spell that marked him Lucilla's one true love. She found it unnecessary to curse two people when one curse could accomplish the deed._

_Lucilla Lafayette was furious when she discovered that her parents had hired the gypsy to curse her. Even after being told to seek love or die, she still stubbornly refused._

_The curse lashed out and made her quite sick, almost to the point of dying._

_Gwendolyn took pity on the girl and gave her a potion to suppress the sickness. Though the potion made her feel better, it did not cure her curse. The Gypsy reminded her that if she didn't find love by the time she was 30, she would die regardless of the potion._

_One experience near death was enough for Lucilla._

_She was smart enough to know that the curse was a force to be reckoned with. She reluctantly cooperated and began her search for that one true love._

_Elliot Morgan was another story. When Gwendolyn told him that he was under a curse (which he wasn't, just under a spell that marked him Lucilla's one true love) and that he would die if he didn't seek love, he flat out refused to believe her. He said even if it were true he would rather die then be forced._

_Gwendolyn cheerfully told him that it could be arranged._

_That didn't sit well with the Morgan Clan. His parents were not going to let him throw away his life for such petty matters. They threatened him with everything from disinheritance to the Imperious Curse. Just wanting his parents off his back, Elliot agreed to search for love. He thought it was a clever ploy._

_He only agreed to **search**, but never said anything about actually **finding** it._

_But then it happened._

_Through some cunning manipulation and skillful plotting, Gwendolyn arranged for Elliot and Lucilla to meet each other one day at the Ministry. Though it wasn't love at first sight, it came pretty damn close. They tried to keep their relationship a secret knowing that their family would not be understanding, but it was only a matter of time before word got out. Saying their families didn't take it very well was a laughable understatement._

_The Morgans and Lafayettes were furious when they discovered that Gwendolyn had matched their children together. They got even angrier when she admits to have no cure for the curse. The only way, she said, was to make the potion then they would be right as rain. Of course she forgot to mention the soul-bonding that would occur (just a little side affect) once they drank that potion._

_Gwendolyn wasn't going to let the two stubborn families destroy what she worked so hard to piece together._

_By the time they realized what the side affect of the potion was, it was too late to separate the two without either of them threatening to kill themselves Romeo and Juliet style._

_And so unwillingly (a gross understatement) the families became tied together through the union of Elliot Thomas Morgan and Lucilla Marie Lafayette._

_But the story does not end there._

_The two families eventually learned to get along with each other, much to the relief of society. Everything was fine and dandy until young Alexandria Louise Lafayette-Morgan, daughter of Elliot and Lucilla, began to exhibit signs of the sickness that had claimed her mother during the time she was under the Romantic curse._

_They administered the potion to help her suppress the sickness and hoped that it was just an after affect of the curse. But as she aged into a teen, the sickness persisted like a second shadow. Her parents were afraid that she might die at the age of 30, so they told her of the curse and did everything they could to find her one true love._

_Fortunately for them, she found love on her own and lived past 30. From then on, it was discovered that the first female child born to the Lafayette bloodline inherited the curse._

. . .

Which leads to the present day Hermione Granger, a distant descendant of the Lafayette bloodline, a young woman of ten and seven still looking for that one true love.

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A/N: I'm not sure whether or not the Wizarding world would have issues with female Aurors back in the day. I just made the assumption that it would have been tough, but not impossible. And if you were awesome enough, anything was possible :D


	6. Head Girl UNREVISED

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it. Other characters actually come into play now! Aren't you proud of me? LOL. I'm going to try and balance a bit of fluff and humor at the same time, so wish me luck! I hope I don't end up with messy sap as results. :P 

" My name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die" 

- Indigo Montoya, Princess Bride - 

~*~*~ 

The train jarred Draco out of his restful sleep as it reached its destination. Hermione was already gathering her things into her bag, preparing to get off the train. 

" Nice nap?" Hermione smirked, shouldering her heavy bag. It was already quite dark outside and she was thankful for the darkness. It would help conceal her identity until it was time. 

" Hm." He shrugged, standing up and straightening the wrinkles out of his robes. Before he could walk out the door, Hermione moved and blocked his way. 

Staring defiantly up at him, she said, " Remember your promise, Slytherin." 

" Didn't know Griffendors were the insecure type." Draco scoffed, his eyes glinted with amusement. 

" Just cautious." Hermione retorted without blinking. " One can never be too trusting around a Slytherin." 

" Whatever." Draco took a step towards the door, thinking that she'll get out of the way. But she didn't move one nanometer. He was now standing a mere half feet away from her. 

" I'm not letting you leave this compartment until I have your word." Hermione insisted. 

" Quit being a nuisance Granger." Draco scowled darkly. " I gave you my word and I won't break it. You should do well to trust me." 

" But I don't." Hermione stated sweetly. 

" Well, you should." He snapped, his irritation quite evident. " Now get out of the way." 

" If you say ' please'." Hermione couldn't stop the grin that itched at her lips. 

" What?" Draco's ice blue eyes stared down at her with impatience and tried to shove past her. 

Hermione just smiled at him and anchored herself more firmly in the doorway. She wasn't moving.

She waited.

He wasn't giving in either.

He waited.

They spent a good five minutes just standing there, her—sarcastically smiling up at him—and him—glaring down at her with sheer annoyance. 

They weren't getting anywhere.

Finally, getting sick of just standing there, Draco, being the gentlemen he is, ask her _nicely_, " Will you _please_ get out of the way?" The words were forced through clinched teeth, " Happy?" 

" Very." Hermione replied simply, stepping neatly to the side, and allowing the irritated Draco Malfoy through the door, before following behind him. 

~*~*~

" Welcome to another year, students." Dumbledore's voice echoed in the great hall. " As customary, we will begin this feast with the sorting of the first years, followed by the introduction of the Head Boy and Girl. With all that said, let us begin." And he motioned to Professor McGonagall, who stood by the door with the first years. 

" Come along." She said brusquely as she led the first years down the center of the hall, her emerald green rob billowing slightly behind her. They stopped when the first students reached the front platform and listened intently to the Hat's song. When it was over, the first student was called up. 

"Mansfield, Emily." A lanky little girl walked up to the chair and sat down. She looked nervous, but tried to hide it by keeping her hands folded in her lap in a demure manner. McGonagall placed the hat on her head and after a few seconds it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF" followed by a round of applauds. 

"Lorin, James" the next student went up. "RAVENCLAW". 

~*~*~ 

" Quite fidgeting." Draco smirked as he observed Hermione's agitated posture. 

" I am not." She shot back, stiffening her back and looking forward, regal as a queen. She wasn't going to let him make a fool of her. " I'm just anxious." 

"Sure." He drawled out looking at the entrance of the Great Hall. McGongall had told them to wait outside the hall until all the first years were led in and sorted. Leaning against the rock wall, he folded his arms across his chest and regarded Hermione with a cool, composed look. 

_' Arrogant jerk.' _Hermione thought darkly. She wasn't going to let him rile her into losing her temper now. If he was going to play it cool, she might as well return the act. 

" You still look nervous." Draco was quite amused by her display. 

" Oh, go away." She growled, turning her back on him to look into the hall. ' Just ignore him. Just ignore him.' She mentally chanted, hoping the mantra would somehow help her ignore what obviously didn't want to be ignored. 

" Can't. McGonagall told us to stay here remember?" He replied cheekily. " The last time I checked, us was a pronoun that connotes to more then one person. Which means you _and_ I must stay here." 

" Argh!" Hermione rolled her eyes with irritation. She didn't want to say anything else to him, or else he'd just continue to bug her.

Draco grinned in the dim light. He forgot how much fun it actually was to annoy the hell out of her. Her face would get all flushed and amber fire would burn in her eyes. She'd glare at him as if wanting to stab him with any sharp object that came to hand. Yes, he found all that quite amusing. He must have a death wish or something. 

~*~*~ 

As the first years stood in line waiting for their turn to be sorted, a boy turned to his friend next to him and muttered " I'm going to kill Sam when I see him. He was going on and on about flying on brooms and stealing Dragon eggs." His friend laughed nervously, eyes focused on the front of the room. 

Harry saw them and smiled. They reminded him of he and Ron when they were first years. Ron had said almost the exact same thing to him when they were waiting to try on the hat. 

" So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. " I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." 

Harry had been relieved and terrified then. Putting on the hat didn't sound as disastrous as performing a spell, but he was still worried about not being sorted at all. Living with the Dursleys for the first 11 years of his life did little to boost self-esteem. But everything had turned out well. 

A well-placed jab in the ribs by Ginny brought him back from la la land. " Ow." Harry muttered, glaring at Ginny. 

" Stop spacing off. They're going to announce the Head boy and girl for this year." She hissed, her eyes glued to the front of the hall. 

" Now that we are in our respective houses, I'd like to introduce this year's Head Boy and Girl." Dumbledore spoke up once again. His announcement was met with tremendous applauds and cheers. 

~*~*~ 

" That's our cue." Hermione said, straightening her back while giving her robs a few last minute adjustments. 

Draco straightened away from the wall and went to stand by Hermione in a relaxed position. Turning to her, he flashed a devilish grin, " Don't trip and fall on your face, Granger." 

" If I do, I'll be sure to take you with me." Hermione replied sweetly, her eyes glinted with mischievous promise. 

~*~*~ 

Dumbledore raised a hand and the hall became quite. "This year's Head Boy is" he added a short pause for dramatic affect. 

" Draco Malfoy." 

The Slytherins cheered the loudest, while the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffs were given to reluctant clapping. They weren't thrilled, but they weren't opposed either.

The hall broke out into whispered chatter. 

The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs didn't much care. They associated little with the Slytherins and weren't in the feud like the Griffendors. They were just disappointed that it wasn't someone of their own house. 

The Slytherins were elastic over the announcement. Finally, someone with competence and intellect was in the Head Boy position. They all leered at the Griffendors, gloating over their major victory. This year was going to be the reign of Slytherins in their eyes. 

The Griffendors were totally miffed. This came as a major blow to them. Although they knew Harry wasn't chosen for the position, they had thought that it would have been some other Griffendor or Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Never in their worst nightmares did they think the Head Boy role would be taken by a Slytherin, and the fricken Prince of Slytherin to boot. This year was going to be Hell. 

" I can't believe _they_ made _him_ Head Boy!" Ron hissed from next to Harry and Ginny. Even after the two years of "peace", Ron still held a minor grudge against Malfoy. They grew out of the name calling stage during 5th year, but that didn't mean they were friends. They gave up their personal rivalries, but that didn't end the interhouse wars. Griffendors were forever competing with the Slytherins for the top seat. And it seems that the Slytherin won this battle. 

" Oh, for heaven sakes. You knew this was going to happen, quite acting like it's actually a bloody surprise." Ginny rolled her eyes. Although they weren't at all buddy-buddy with the Slytherins—that Slytherin in particular—she had to admit that they've all changed ever since _that_ event. 

~*~*~

" I think they took it well." Hermione said when she didn't hear bursts of outrage spew from the hall. The Griffendors were sure taking it well…

" They're just shocked speechless." Draco offered offhandedly. " For once, someone with competence has claimed the head seat."

" Don't kid yourself." Hermione rolled her eyes. " Stop feeding your ego."

" Ah, yes, wouldn't want it to starve to death." Draco returned smartly.

"There's a low to zero chance that will happen." Hermione retorted.

~*~*~

Dumbledore cleared his throat and the hall hushed. " And this year's Head Girl is," He paused slightly, enjoying the affect of the dramatic break. He noted that the Griffendors were all glaring at him intensely, as if daring him to put another Slytherin in the position for Head Girl. Dumbledore hide an amused grin while silently chuckling to himself. 

The hall waited with eager silence as he revealed the name.

"Hermione Granger." 

~*~*~ 

A/N: Ah, cruel me. Leaving you with a cliffhanger yet again. Lol, couldn't help it, it's in the blood. 

I would like to personally thank Parselmouth101 for being very supportive of this first HP fic. Your comments mean a lot to me, and I really appreciate you're reviews. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. 

Also, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has given me reviews. I really appreciate your support and opinions. Without you, I probably wouldn't have gotten this far. Thanks a lot. 


	7. Natural Charisma UNREVISED

A/N: Well, time to face the music eh? LOL, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Sorry it took so long to post. But I was away from a school computer and so I couldn't post.

" _Dulce et decorum est pro partria mori._ It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country."

- Horace

Thanks to Ardent Entity for reminding me that there were 5 major silences in Hogwart's History. Thanks a bunch.

Also, I've just recently drew a picture for this fic.

I'm working on making other pictures. You can find them at my website._ _

* * *

After the announcement, they walked in regally through the large doors and down the center aisle.  
  
__

There have been only 5 accounts of silence in the great hall in Hogwart's history. The first being the time when Albus Dumbledore was presented as the Headmaster for Hogwarts. The second, when Harry Potter--The-Boy-Who-Lived--was called up for his sorting. The third was during the announcement of the Triwizard participant. The fourth happened when Dumbledore announced the death of Cedric Diggory's. The last was when the defeat of the Dark Lord was declared. This one could rank up there with those moments.

_ _Well, almost. Alright, so it wasn't quite there, but it had the potential. The younger years had no idea why the hall was so quite and so they looked to the older students for guidance. They didn't find much help there because the older years were busy looking like dead fishes on a stick. The hall was semi-silent for a good thirty seconds before the need to vocalize overrode shocked silence. Hermione was having a hard time keeping her facial expression serene. All she wanted to do at that point was to give into the giggles that were pushing against her lips. She had expected people to be shocked and maybe even outraged, after all, returning students usually never get the opportunity to be one of the Heads. She was still trying to figure that one out herself (not that she's complaining about being Head Girl, mind you). 

Draco's face was set in his trademark leer as he walked down next to Hermione. He could see out of the corner of his eyes, the shock written plainly on the Gryffindor's faces. He found their dead fish look quite amusing. He should remember to gload later about the fact that he knew something they didn't.

_ _

They walked down the center of the hall as gracefully as royalty. The whole "moving-gracefully" wasn't Hermione's strong suit. She almost tripped a couple of times because her feet would step on the front of her robe. She really needed to get them hemmed or something. Her parents bought her a new robe just before she left, and so she didn't have time to make adjustments. She took a quick sideways glance at Draco and found him to be quite at ease. 'Figures. That's natural charisma for you.' Hermione's eyes darted back to the front and prayed to whatever god was listening that she'd make it up there without falling. She just hoped that all those waltzing lessons she had taken in Beauxbaton would amount to something other then looking nice on the dance floor.

_ _

Once they made it to the front of the room--disaster free--they turned to face the crowd. The hall had erupted into loud cheering and clapping as soon as they were half way up there. The older Gryffindors were especially loud. The younger years guessed it was a good thing, and so they cheered loudly with their upper classmen. For the 7th years, they felt that their pride was salvaged now and they considered the playing field even now.

_ _

Giving a small formal bow together, the two Heads departed from the front of the room and wandered over to their house tables. As soon as Hermione was within an arms distance of the Gryffindor table, she was almost tackled to the ground.

_ _

"Hermione! Why did you lied to us about coming back?" Ginny was the first to pounce on her and give her a giant hug, almost cutting off her airway.

_ _

" Ginny, if I'd told you I was coming back, it wouldn't have been a surprise now would it?" Hermione laughed outright, not even bothering to hiding her amusement.

_ _

Her friends took turns giving her a welcoming hug, and after all that was done they settled down and began to eat. Before she could even take a drink, she was bombarded with questions about how she's been the past 2 years and what the other schools were like. The food, seemingly forgotten for the moment, she chatted happily with them, enjoying the company. She had made a few friends at Durmstrang and Beauxbaton, but they were somewhat distant friendships. She was a foreigner to them, and they were foreign to her. It felt nice to finally be in a familiar surrounding again.

_ _

* * *

_ _He was getting a migraine. _ _

Where are those headache pills when you need them? Suzie-whats-her-face (actually, her name was Susana Leichre, a Slytherin 6th year.) was hanging all over him like a leech. Trying to peal her off was a trying task, but he was going to get her to let go of his arm so the blood-starved limb wouldn't have to be amputated.

_ _

Pansy couldn't help but snicker at the scene from her seat across from Draco. The scene looked way too familiar to her. It reminded her of her younger years. 'God, I sound like a reminiscing old granny.' She used to be a selfish, whiny brat that wanted everything her way...alright, so she's still a little selfish, what good Slytherin isn't? Over the years, she had learned much better ways at getting what she wanted without all the whining and simpering. Besides, she lost interest in Slytherin men. They were too manipulative to be manipulated. There were bigger fishes in the sea. She is currently seeing Ernie Macmillan, a 7th year Hufflepuff, much to people's surprise. Most people thought that the Slytherins preferred to stay to their own kind, as they kindly put it. There were few Slytherins that associated with the other houses (Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw), though there was still a shaky bridge between the Slytherins and Gryffindors.

_ _

To Draco's left sat Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They were both flirting outrageously with some Slytherin 3rd years. Ever since they grew out of their "baby fat" they began to exert their energy into being chick magnets, something they obviously picked up from being around Draco. Asides from losing weight, they both tried to do better at their schoolwork. They finally put two and two together: good looks intelligence = babe magnet. And so in a surprisingly short time (1 year) they managed to go from brainless blobs that can't think of anything but food, to semi-good looking, somewhat intelligent guys with their heads in the gutter most of the time. Well, it was an improvement.

_ _

" Draco, why aren't you eating?" Suzie asked, " Are you feeling sick?"

_ _

" No. I can't eat because the grip you have on my arm is obstructing my ability to move it." Draco said in a deadpan voice. He wished he had never dated Suzie. She was turning out to be another 1st year Pansy.

_ _

He never lacked female attention. During his 1st year he received numerous attention from the female population. At first he loved it and would flirt unashamedly with them. Then he went from flirting to actual dating, and had a field day with all the girlfriends he had. He practically had women lined up to be his girlfriend. All was good and fun until 5th year, when it all began to get really out of control.

_ _

5th year was hell.

_ _

At the age of 16, his looks had evolved from "cute and adorable" to "handsome and devilish lady killer" (plus his huge horde of money) which made him all the more popular amongst the girls Little fights over "territory"¡XDraco¡Xsoon escalated into crazy bitch fights. Of course it was all kept within the Slytherin common room so that the other houses didn't witness them. It would have been major embarrassment for the Slytherins if the other houses found out about their inner house problems. Then the bitch fights evolved into a full-blown war, which almost divided the house. It was obvious that the Slytherin men were not happy living in Draco's shadow, and with the women all fighting to get him, they were all considering to do him in so they could get the problem resolved.

_ _

5th year was also the year that ol' Voldie was "defeated". There was a large controversy surrounding the actual "defeat". Whether the Dark Lord was truly vanquished was still up to question and debates. Many had their doubts since the Dark Lord never seemed to stay dead. He was like a cat with the whole nine lives package included.

_ _

With the Dark Lord supposedly defeated, the Death Eaters were left without guidance. Most of them decided to lie low and wait it out, while others decided to try and takeover the world on their own. They were arrested by the Ministry and put in to Azkaban Prison. Even after the first batch had been arrested, some of the Death Eaters still didn't get the hint. They went on to try their hands at conquering the world thinking, "We've got a better idea, we've got a better idea." Then after they were caught, " It was the same idea, it was the same idea." After about the 10th batch of Death Eaters¡Xtrying to conquer the world on their own¡Xwas sent to Azkaban, the other Death Eaters caught the drift.

_ _

The focus of the Slytherin's inner house war was turned towards the defeat of the Dark Lord. Draco, for one was glad that he wasn't going to get killed anytime soon. The house was once again threatened to divide into two. Some believed that the Dark Lord would arise again. Some just believed they should give the whole "dominating the world" bit a rest. And so they warred with each other over loyalty. The Voldie supporters accused the non-supporters as to being traitors, while the non-supporters said the supporters were wasting their time on a lost cause. After about a year of relative peace with no action or word of the Dark Lord, the inner house war disintegrated. The Slytherins seem to finally come to terms with each other and focus more of their energy into plotting against the Gryffindors.

_ _

* * *

_ _Disclaimer: I don't own the phrases:  
" We've got a better idea, We've got a better idea."   
" It was the same idea, It was the same idea."  
That little idea came from Eddie Izzard (A British transvestite comedian) 

A/N: Well, I had fun putting all that dramatic stuff in. Well, I love stupid drama, and just thought I put that to some use...The next chapter will be "Catching Up" which might be out sometime next week.  
  
[1] Announcement #1: There will probably be no updating until school ends (June 14) because of my finals (for college)  
  
[2] Announcement #2: Also, once Summer hits, the chapter formats might be screwy because I'll be loading from home, and my home system doesn't quite clash well with the FFN format. So for those 2 or so months, please bear with me, and as soon as school starts, I'll get them fixed through a school computer.

hildie: I'm glad that you like my fics and fear not I am still working on "Tears of the Heart" I'm just currently full of ideas for this particular fic. After I get this rush out of my system, I'll diverge my energy to TOTH k? Thanks for the concern.

Jamie: Thank you for pointing out my errors. I'll go through my fic with a fine comb and try and get that fixed soon.

Thanks once again to those people who've given me reviews. See you in later chapters!


	8. Psychologist Patil UNREVISED

A/N: Yes, I died and was reborn only because kami-sama says I can't die until finish my fanfics. LOL. I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. I was feeling lazy because **it is **summer vacation after all, and I've just been wallowing in the laziness of it all. Beware of screwy format ahead. I'm out of school, and so I'm using my home computer to write this, and because of format incompatibility, it results in screwy symbols. Please bear with me for these two months of summer vacation. Thank you.

Last Note: The next chapter will probably not be out for a month or so because I'll be doing some downloading and computer organizing, plus, Liliath will be spending most of her time immersed in watching anime (SCRYED IS THE BEST!!!) and reading Manga (Kenshin) *sighing with happiness* ~ heaven...*cough*...ahem, anyways, enough with the pointless ramble, on with the fun eh?

~*~*~

" So, Hermione, how was living abroad?" Ron asked as he shoved food into his gapping jaw. Sitting next to him was Lavender who was telling him to slow down so he wouldn't choke.

" It was fun and exciting for a while." Hermione replied spearing a potato slice with her fork and taking a quick bite. She hadn't had anything to eat since lunch, and with her friends grilling her for information, she was sure she wouldn't be having any dinner as well if she didn't use every available second to put some food into her mouth. " You'd be surprised how quick homesickness sets in." 

" Tells us about Beauxbaton and Durmstrang." Lavender said with an envious tone, propping her elbow on the table and setting her chin in her hands.

" What is there to tell?" Hermione asked after swallowing her bite of potato.

" Oh, come on, there's plenty to tell. I mean, most of us have not had the pleasure of studying abroad."

" Well, as I said, it was fun for a while, I got to see many famous places and I went to Paris for a week. Then it got to be how it is here. Everything you do is routine."

" I'm not talking about the school, " Lavender said in an exasperated tone. " I'm asking about the men they have over there. Are they hot?"

" HEY! If I may so kindly remind you, you already have a boyfriend! You shouldn't be asking those questions!" Ron paused in his food consumption to protest Lavender's question.

" Just because a girl is tied down that doesn't mean she can't appreciate." Lavender huffed. " Besides it's not like I'm going to move there anytime soon so cool your jets."

" I didn't know you two were dating?" Hermione said with surprise. She would have never guessed from the letters Lavender keep sending her about the " hunk of the week"...although Ron was always on the list somewhere...

" Anyways, tell me." Lavender pressed. 

Ron scowled and stabbed his fork viciously into an innocent piece of chicken.

" Lavender, that question is a lost cause." Ginny said shaking her head, trying to change the topic before her brother decided to murder his girlfriend with his fooding utensil. " This is Hermione we're talking about here."

" And what is that suppose to mean!" Hermione growled and glared at Ron's little sister.

" It means, you probably had your nose in a book instead of scoping out guys." Ginny replied like it was a no-brainer.

" Well excuse me for wanting to become something other then a consumer of oxygen." Hermione retorted while feeling a blush rise. Did every one think she's that hopeless?

" Girl, you need more then just books to keep you company, unless you want to grow to be a 80 year old spinster who collects stray cats." Parvati said, joining the conversation.

_'I'd be dead before I get that old.'_ Hermione thought grimly. Maybe finding that one true love will prove to be more of a trial then she thought it would. If all her friends say she's that hopeless, then that means she truly is. 

Seeing the change of mood in her friend, Parvati thought she offended her friend and so she quickly interjected, " I was just kidding about the 80 year old spinster thing."

Hermione didn't hear her friend's hastily made statement. She was deep in thought about her lack of ability in the field that many seem to be an expert at. Is she that pathetic? Is her ineptness that apparent to everyone around her? She knew through past experience that any relationship she had past friendship was a disaster and short lived. 

Take Victor Krum for example. He had shown interest in her during his stay at Hogwarts when the Triwizard tournament was going on. After he left, he had entreated her to visit him. He was quite a nice guy, even though he couldn't pronounce her name worth squat. She didn't feel any chemistry from him and so she figured he wasn't "the one". But seeing that he was the first guy to show decent interest in her, she decided to use that opportunity to test out her "man-charming" skills that, she later discovered, was nonexistent. But disregarding that small inconvenience, she tried hard to learn the ways of "being an item". The effort was fruitless and painful. Every time he tried to get closer, she'd stammer and scoot as far away from him as she can. That ended the relationship rather quickly. He was still friendly towards her though.

Then there was that 6th year student, James Harrison, whom she dated during the end of her 5th year. That began a disaster and ended in total devastation. The only good that came out of that relationship was her acceptance of closer bodily contact (a.k.a holding about the waist and kiss on the cheek). Lip to lip contact was still off limits, which caused immediate termination of relationship later on.

When she transferred to Beauxbaton during her 6th year, she opened up a bit more. She dated, but lip kissing and hands placed anywhere but shoulders and waist were still big no-no's. She knew that she needed to get past just holding hands and hugging, but she couldn't get herself to stop blushing and panicking whenever her date tried to get closer. Her relationships never lasted longer then 2 weeks.

Which brings her to her present dilemma. If she's as hopeless as her friends say she is around men, then that means she's going to have to work much harder.

Which means that she's going to have to enlist help from her friends. That fact wasn't all too pleasant, but it seemed to be her only option. With the book and her friend's advice combined, it should make up for her lack of experience.

~*~*~

" Hello. Earth to Hermione." Parvati said in a singsong voice while waving her hand in front of her friend's face. That didn't break Hermione out of her concentrated trance. " She is no longer in this world." 

" Do you think she's O.K.?" Ginny asked, staring at Hermione who seemed to be in a world of her own. She's been spacing out ever since Parvati's quip about the spinster and cats.

" I don't know. I wonder if the spinster joke was too much of a blow to her." Harry replied.

Lavender was getting ready to poke Hermione with a fork, but was stopped by Ron who took it from her. " Thanks." He lost visual of his fork in the sea of tableware and needing one to eat with, he found the one Lavender held in her hand more convenient then going to get another one.

~*~*~

Still immersed in her thoughts, Hermione continue to struggle with her dilemma. During the 2 years she stayed in Durmstrang and Beauxbaton, she did a lot of reading, and gathered a lot of knowledge concerning relationships, but not much was accomplished socially. Over the summer she watched a lot of sappy romance movies, read a lot of romance novels and did research concerning how to find love. Although she blushed every time the character¡Xmovie or book¡Xdid anything past hugging, she eventually got used to the idea of closer human contact. She believed she even got past her phobia of kissing (on the lips), but that remained a hypothesis because lack of kissable subjects to test it out on.

_' Until _he_ showed up...'_ Shaking her head to wipe away the 'unpleasant' thought she tried to think of something else, but obviously that little enlightenment didn't want to be ignored.

**_' Come on now, it wasn't a bad first time experience.'_**

_' How can you even say that?'_ Hermione shuddered

**_' Because it's true. I'm not your conscience for nothing. Besides, you said so yourself.'_**

_' I did not! It only seemed nice because I had nothing to compare it to!'_

**_' Remember those stupid cheesy movies? The shivers down your spine? The warm drowsy feeling?'_**

_' I had none of that!'_

**_' Sure keep telling yourself that. You know you felt it.'_**

_' I felt nothing!'_

~*~*~

" Is she getting sick or something? She's starting to turn red." Parvati pointed out, watching the spaced out Hermione's face change colors.

~*~*~

Hermione's inner battle continued. She was losing the fight thought, her conscience had a lot more skills then she estimated.

**_' You wanna hug him.'_**

_' Hell no!'_

**_' You wanna kiss him.' _**

_' What type of conscience are you? _

**_' You wanna love him and marry him.'_**

_' I wanna hurl.'_

**_' You're blushing.'_**

_' No I'm not!' _Hermione subconsciously slapped her hands over her cheeks, which earned her a couple of odd looks from those around her. 

~*~*~

" Maybe she's having a hot flash or something." Ron supposed, drinking some pumpkin juice to wash down the chicken. 

" Do you even know what a hot flash is?" Lavender asked with an incredulous look on her face.

" It isn't something good, I can tell you that much." Ron grinned, grabbing some grapes off the fruit tray.

" You're pathetic." Lavender slapped her palm against her forehead with exasperation. 

" Will someone shake her out of it or something? She's starting to freak me out." Ginny said.

~*~*~

In the middle of waging a heated war with her conscience, Hermione was rudely jarred back into reality by violent shake and a shout in her ear. " Hermione!"

" AHHHH!" Hermione snapped out of her trance-like state unceremoniously, giving those around her a heart attack and attracting the attention of the other tables. " Don't scare me like that!"

" You're one to talk." Ginny, who was sitting in front of Hermione, retorted clutching her heart. Since there was nothing worth watching, the other tables resumed their fooding. (A/N: Before you all jump on me about the word "Fooding" I'll have you know that I am aware that "Fooding" is not a real word. But I think it's a nifty word and so I wanted to use it.)

Hermione felt her face heat up. " Well I wouldn't have screamed if you didn't scare me first."

" Well we wouldn't have scared you if you weren't staring off into la la land!" Lavender reprimanded pounding Ron on the back trying to dislodge the grape stuck in his throat. After a few hacking coughs, the said grape was removed bestowing upon Ron the ability to breathe again. " So in the end, it's your fault."

" I was thinking that's all." Hermione replied regaining her posture. " No harm in that."

" Well, next time, notify us when you're going to do some thinking so we don't end up scaring the bajeezes out of ourselves and possibly choking to death." Ron suggested after calming down his breathing.

" Well you wouldn't have choked if you would slow down in your food consumption." Hermione rolled her eyes. 

" So what were you thinking about eh?" Parvati asked 

" Nothing really. Just trying of figure out few personal problems." Hermione said trying not to blush.

" Well, if there's anything we can do, just tell us and we'll do our best to help." Lavender offered. 

" I'll keep that in mind." Hermione hid her urge to twitch behind a smile. If they only knew...

~*~*~

It was pretty late, around 11:30, when the feasting wound to a halt. Each house dispersed to their dorms to get ready for bed. As custom, the 6th and 7th years were having a post feast party in their common rooms. 

" I've got to do some paper work before tomorrow." Hermione protested. She needed to set a good example as Head Girl. Partying all night (with the potential of getting drunk without one's knowledge) was not a behavior associated with being a responsible person.

" Quit worrying. You need to relax and enjoy what's left of summer." Lavender slung an arm around Hermione's shoulder and steered her towards the common room.

" But I'm head girl. I've got matters which I need to attend to. Things to organize and prioritize."

" Too many big words." Ron said covering his ears, earning him a whap on the back of the head by Hermione.

" Come on, loosen up Mione." Parvati gave Hermione a hearty slap on the back almost making the girl one with the floor." Humans are social animals and have a need to be constantly surrounded by those of its kind." 

" And that has what to do with responsibility?" Hermione ask rubbing her back where Parvati's hands left a stinging impression.

Rolling her eyes with exasperation Parvati gave Hermione another slap on the back in the exact same spot, turning the sting into a bruise. "In other words, socializing is good for your health!"

" Thank you Psychologist Patil." Hermione scowled. " Next time try not to add abuse into your lectures."

" You're just to uptight." Lavender poked Hermione in the shoulder while continuing to steer her towards the commons.

" Am not!" Hermione huffed indigently. " I am sociable when the occasion calls for."

" Well the occasion calls for it." Parvati slung her arm around Hermione's shoulder as well. " You need to learn to have fun. Obviously studying abroad did nothing to lighten up your serious demeanor."

" You just want to get me drunk." Hermione muttered under her breath. She remembered the last time Parvati had dragged her to a late night party. 

" And that." Parvati grinned.

" Great friend you are." Hermione elbowed Parvati sharply in the side. **_' Come on. Go have fun. Meet some guys. Get wild.'_**

_' God, not you again.'_

**_' Yes, the all mighty conscience is back.'_**

_' I don't need your help.'_

**_' Girl, you're hopeless without me.'_**

_' Says who.'_

**_' Me.'_**

_' Egocentric aren't we.'_

**_' Of course. Besides how are you going to find that one true love if you don't do the hunting?'_**

Feeling irritated by the fact that her conscience was right, Hermione reluctantly agreed, " I'll stay for a little while. The papers can wait a bit."

" That's the spirit!" Her friends cheered. And for a brief moment Hermione wondered if staying for that_ little while_ would be too much...

~*~*~

That little bit from "Miss Congeniality" does not belong to me. I claim no rights to it. Ahahahah, this took me 1 month to finish. Pathetic huh? N e ways, don't expect the next chapter to be out for another good 2-3 weeks. I know I'm lazy, but right now I'm hooked on an online game and between that and my drawings, I've got plenty to keep me occupied. Don't worry. As soon as school starts I'll probably be back to 1 chapter a week. I hope this holds you over for a while.

Laterz


	9. My Misery UNREVISED

A/N: **TO ALL THOSE THAT ASKED ABOUT THE FUNNY MARKINGS! **As I said before in my previous author note, I can't fix these funky symbols with my computer because of the incompatibility of my Chinese Office 2000 system with FFN. As soon as school starts (September 2nd) I'll be able to use the school computer to fix this. Until then _please_ bear with the weird symbols.

Sorry about kinda forgetting to put Draco in the previous chapter. . . :P I know, I know, I should just go and kill myself now, but then who would continue my fic ne?

~*~*~

He blinked.

Turned to his left, then to his right.

And blinked again.

Turned from his right to his left.

Stared at the ceiling.

...Stared some more.

...and some more.

He even started counting sheep, but no avail. Sleep would not come to him. Every time Draco closed his eyes he would begin to think of the incident on the train. 

The task he was asked to perform made no sense whatsoever. He didn't think it was a tradition since the professors were stumbling with their request at one point. He figured that the professors knew more then they were letting on when they explained the task to him. But what they knew exactly was beyond him at the moment. And having Snapes, his own house leader—usually a very disagreeable chap—, agree with the other houses was another obvious warning sign.

Something else was bothering him as well.

The memory of the kiss made itself a permanent resident on his mind. Who he kissed wasn't what was bothering him. It was the kiss itself that really dug under his skin. 

At the moment their lips met, he felt some sort of current wash over him, somewhat like a jolt of electricity travel from his head to his toes. It was almost as if he was being pulled towards her by some magnetic force. On top of that, He would have kept on kissing her if she hadn't pinched him hard in the arm. 

And that bothered him. 

It wasn't as if she was a great kisser. As a matter of fact, she was very awkward and slow to respond. 

**_' A little inexperienced, but pretty damn good for an innocent I'd say.' _**

—And he wasn't attracted to her either, not in any sort of way. He had never liked her _that_ way. 

**_' You haven't _****yet_.'_**

Choosing to ignore his stupid conscience, he continued to ponder. Nothing of the sort had ever happened with the other girls. Of course he had never kissed any girl from the Gryffindor house. Not that he plans on to ever again, even for experimental purposes. Maybe it was just something with the Gryffindors. Maybe they were cursed or something.

**_' It's not them, it's you.'_**

_' Will you quit it? I never asked your opinion!'_ Draco finally got fed up with the comments from the peanut gallery.

**_' I'm your conscience; I need no permission to butt in. You need someone to keep you in line.'_**

_' And you think you can do that? Don't make me choke.'_

**_' It's easy when you're the conscience. All I have to do is drive you crazy.'_**

_' . . .'_

**_' I believe I'm doing a good job of it, don't you agree?'_**

_' ARGH! Why does everything have to be so complicated?' _After about 20 minutes of fighting with his conscience, he had a strong urge suffocate himself under his pillow just to put himself out of his misery. 

_' Maybe some fresh air might help.'_ He gave up on ignoring his nosy conscience and rolled off his bed to open the window.

~*~*~

She felt really, really tired, but sleep eluded her at every toss and turn. Insomnia was now her new best friend. Having such a large bed to roll around on didn't help either. She was so used the small, twin sized bed she had before, where she felt cocooned by her covers. This bed was too big for her taste. But it along with the other luxuries came with being the Head Girl, and she wasn't going to give it up just because she wasn't used to the finer things in life. It was going to take a while to get used to.

Staring up at the ceiling (because there was nowhere else to stare at when lying on ones back), she tried to push all thoughts aside and focus on the motions of falling asleep. But that was a lost cause as well when she winced at the headache pounding away in her skull. It felt as if there were Cornish pixies dancing the Nutcracker Suite in her brain. 

_' Stupid, stupid, Hermione.'_ She berated herself. She should have known better then to trust a friend who had previously tried to get her drunk at every given opportunity. She decided firmly on a new resolution, which was never to trust anything handed to her by Parvati. Not without giving it a full autopsy and have a sample analysis report in hand.

She did have fun at the party; that wasn't the problem. Getting drunk wasn't on her agenda; and that was the problem. Late night parties weren't her thing. She hated being squished between people and being 'accidentally' brushed upon—a.k.a. being goosed—by random people. Most of all, she disliked being the odd woman out.

Everyone had someone. Usually they would stick together and be all giggly for the rest of the night. Having to stand by and watch that type of behavior all night wasn't her idea of fun. Don't get her wrong. She had no objections to her friends finding happiness and being happy. She just can't stomach all that fluff for too long. 

Pathetic huh? 

_' Yeah, I'm pretty pathetic alright.'_ She sighed flopping onto her stomach. Finding sleep was pretty much hopeless. It was already autumn, but it was still pretty warm. Wanting some air circulation within the room, she dragged herself over to the window. With a bit of struggle, she opened the window and a strong breeze wafted in giving her a breather of fresh air. Laying her arms on the window ledge, she sighed and rested her chin on her arms, looking out into the night. She had often done this to help clear her mind when she was away at Beauxbaton and Durmstrang. Somehow looking at the vast patch of sky comforted her. Maybe it had to do with the fact that no matter where she went, or where she lived, the sky was the same. And it made her feel close to home even thought she was hundreds of miles away. It was a corny way of thinking, but she liked it and believed in it.

~*~*~

Something wafted to his senses on the night breeze. It smelt faintly of jasmine and honey. Unnoticed by him, the small crystal he wore around his neck started shimmering a dull red...

_' That smell . . .' _Turning his head towards the window next to his, he saw Hermione's arms hanging out her window. _' I wonder what she's doing up at this time of night.' _Opting to stay silent, he leaned his elbows on the windowsill, and stared in her direction.

~*~*~ 

" God, I feel so sick." Hermione groaned. The after affects of the alcohol were just starting to kick in. _' I need Tylenol...Check that, Demerol._' At the thought of pain relievers, her drugged brain protested and began pounding with an intense headache. _' Ow, ow, ow.'_

Along with the headache from hell, her stomach was having the time of its life doing flips and summersaults, sending her supper slowly back up her esophagus, making her choke and gag.

Sticking her had out the window, she tried to calm down the roller coaster in her stomach and the pounding in her head. She focused her attention on the sky, letting the beautiful scenery work its magic. Everything was going fine and dandy until Mr. Ego crashed in. 

" Granger, will you tone it down over there. I'm trying to enjoy the scenery." 

His voice trickled into her ear and registered in her brain after about one second of lag time. And as if on cue, the pounding in her head reimbursed with the ferocity of a groundhog on crack. She groaned and let her head drop onto her forearm. " Screw you." The crystal lying next to her heart, turned from a calm, pale blue into a faint pulsing red, which went unnoticed by Hermione.

" Didn't know you were interested." Came the arrogant reply.

" Leave me alone." She turned her head and glared at him. "Let me die in peace."

" Only back for one day, and they've already driven you to suicide." Draco chuckled as he watched the girl give another moan of misery. There was just something about her current state that was amusing to him. Perhaps it's because he never would expect a woman of her nature to be in such predicament.

" I see you're enjoying my misery." Hermione barked out and winced sharply at the pain that lanced through her head and the wave of nausea that struck her. _' Better keep the decibel down.'_

" Of course." Draco replied cheerfully.

_' A true Slytherin.' _Hermione moaned. Maybe she should put a silence charm on him, or better yet levitate a rock and hurl it at him. But with her brain usage limited down to concentrating on not hurling, the probability of doing either of those desired choises is slim to none. " Please, just go away."

" You'll be fine by morning." Draco stated, turning his attention away from Hermione for a moment to stare at the moon. 

" Thanks for the vote of confidence." 

" A little strong coffee will help." Draco offered.

" I'll keep that in mind." Hermione said, slightly wary. Perhaps it was the headache screwing with her rational thinking or the alcohol frolicking in her blood, for a minute she thought he was actually being nice to her. 

**_' Hm, perhaps this will be the start of a wondrous relationship.'_**

_' Oh no. I don't need this right now. Go away.' _

**_' Oh, come on; admit it. He's being nice. He's being cute. What girl in her right mind can resist that?'_**

_' One that actually _has_ a mind. Go away. Let me die in peace.'_

**_' Got a gorgeous pair of eyes as well if you haven't noticed.' _**

_' Oh god._' She groaned again and buried her face in her arms. " What are you doing up at this time of night." Hermione asked, shoving her crazy conscience aside.

" Nothing. You?" Draco answered. He figured there was no harm in some decent talking. He could afford to take a break in between taunting.

" Nothing." Hermione replied, surprised that he was actually conversing with her. Maybe he wasn't such an asshole after all. 

" Doesn't look like nothing." Draco said using an observative tone. " Looks to me you're enjoying a rather nice little hangover." Draco returned to mocking her. It was just so much fun making her puff up like one of those puffer fishes.

'_ Then again, once an asshole, always an asshole.'_ She sighed. What should she have expected? 

" That's not very Head-Girl-like" Draco reprimand. 

" Don't be a hypocrite." Hermione barked and winced again. " Don't tell me _you_ always act by the book." 

" When I feel like pissing you off I do." Draco grinned, casually leaning against the window frame. 

" Don't I feel privileged. You go out of your way just to piss me off." Hermione disguised the sarcasm in her voice with faked sweetness. "I'm flattered."

" Don't take it the wrong way Granger." Draco quirked an eyebrow. What was she up to? She was hopping mad a few minutes ago. _' What's she got up her sleeve now?'_ He mused as he waited for her next move. 

" What do you mean?" Hermione asked in an innocent voice. She would have batted her eyelashes to enhance the "innocent" look, but since he probably couldn't see it in the dark, she wasn't going to waste her energy. She had just successfully turned the tables on him. _' Ha! Eat that you jerk!' _

**_' You're flirting with him.'_**

_' Am not. Just giving him a taste of his own medicine.'_

**_' I still say you are flirting.'_**

_' Go infest someone else.'_

" Flirting doesn't suit you." Draco figured out that she was trying to turn the tides into her favor. She would need a better comeback if she thought she was going to win this battle.

**_' See. What did I tell ya?'_**

_' Shut up.' _Hermione growled at her conscience before turning her attention back to Draco. " Who the hell said I was flirting?! With you of all people."

" Oh, that's right. I forgot. You don't know how to flirt." Draco smirked. She was back to her defensive position again.

" If I didn't know how to flirt, then how could you have mistaken my comment for flirting?" Hermione smirked. Ha! She got him there. 

" So you openly admit you were flirting with me eh?" Draco grinned. She thought she was clever, but not clever enough. " Couldn't resist my charm could you?"

" As much as I couldn't resist swallowing a live frog." Hermione made another gagging noise. Picturing such a disgusting thought was making her stomach churn.

" Now that would be a sight worth watching." Draco chuckled, enjoying her discomfort. He might as well enjoy it while he can, since she'd probably hex him in the morning while he's asleep.

" A sight you won't be seeing anytime soon." Hermione twitched. She should just ignore him and go back to bed. He was making her sicker then she was. And if she didn't get some sleep in soon, she'd probably fall asleep in class tomorrow. Then what would the teachers say? " I'm going to bed. I've already wasted enough time on you."

" Such harsh words." Draco said with fake hurt. " I thought you had better manners then that."

" One needs no manners when dealing with snakes." Hermione yawned. Her headache was dulling, and her stomach had seemed to settle down a bit. She was beginning to feel sleepy, and before she is dead to the world, she would like to be in her bed, not next to the window where the probability of ending up on the floor by morning is higher.

" So does that mean you won't blow me a kiss good night?" Draco asked, laughter quite evident in his voice.

Hermione was just too tired at that point to continue on bantering. " Don't ask questions that you know the answer to."

" Are you telling me not to ask any questions then?" Draco continued on amusedly.

" You're such an egotistical asshole you know that?" Hermione half-yawned her statement.

" Good of you to notice." Draco grinned in the darkness.

" Go rot in hell." Hermione said with another yawn, shrinking back into her room.

" Ladies first." Draco swept his arm in bowing gesture. This year might be more interesting then he thought.

~*~*~

A/N: My, my, aren't they friendly with each other. Don't expect any romance to pop up anytime soon. Not at the rate their friendly meter is traveling. Hope you enjoyed it.


	10. Surprise UNREVISED

A/N: Ah, COLLEGE CLASS OVERLOAD. The work is piling up. Anyways I'll try to work my fanfic writing time around my college classes, high school classes, and swim team practice. It might be hectic, but hey it'll be fun! Who am I kidding?! 

Question: Do their classes start at 8 in the morning? I have no idea about that, and so I made up a time. If you do know, I'd appreciate it if you tell me. Thanks.

~*~*~

She woke up groggy and slightly disorganized. But at least the headache from the previous night had lessened to a dull throb and was more of an irritation then actual pain. Her stomach wasn't twisting about in her abdominal cavity as well, which made it a much more pleasant morning. Looking at the ornate clock next to her bed, she sat up abruptly. It was already _6:30_ and she had only an hour before her meeting with the professors. They had requested she meet them half an hour before class started. In her haste to get out of bed, she forgot that her legs were still wrapped in the sheets, and she tumbled out of the large bed, landing ungracefully on the hard ground.

"Ow." She groaned, sitting up and rubbing her back. She was lucky she didn't land on her face and rearrange her facial structures. Knowing that another bruise was making itself a temporary resident on her back, she got up off the floor and threw the sheets back onto the bed. 

Stumbling over to the bathroom, she grabbed her clothing, towel and other bath essentials. Shedding her sleepwear, she placed her clothing on the counter and turned to hang her towel up on the rack. She noticed a set of black and forest green towels already occupying the spot. Confused, she just pushed it aside and placed her towel on the rack. Walking into the shower, she found some bottles stacked neatly on the shower shelves. Deciding not to waste time figuring out why they where there, she moved them over and placed her own shampoo and body wash on the shelf. 

Turning the water on to a lukewarm setting, she stepped under the shower and let the warm water wake her up.

~*~*~

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Be—WHACK!_

A hand came out from under the blanket of forest green silk and whacked the blaring alarm clock. After lying in bed for a few more languorous moments, Draco sat up and stretched his limbs. It was 6:45 in the morning already. He had a meeting with the professors at 7:30, which was only 45 minutes away. 

Getting out of bed, he walked slowly towards the bathroom, still half asleep. He pulled at the handle to the door, and found it stuck. Grumbling about stupid doors that get themselves stuck he walked over to his desk and picked up his wand. 

Thinking of having a quick shower before his meeting, he didn't even realize that there was singing coming from the other side of the door. With a yawn and a wave of his wand, he unlocked the door and pushed it open. 

He didn't know who was more surprised. 

~*~*~

The sound " AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" pierced through the school, bouncing off every wall, resonating through each crevice. 

Good morning Hogwarts.

~*~*~

Hermione screamed bloody murder. She had just finished her shower and was barely dressed¡Xnamely just in her under garments. Humming a cheerful tune, she had felt refreshed and ready to take on the day, a day which should have been rather peaceful without interruptions such as being seen half naked by the man she most despise. 

In her moment of panic to get her body decently covered she forgot that the floor was wet and she slipped on a puddle of water. Crashing to the ground with an undignified yelp, she didn't even give the pain a second thought as she yanked the towel off the rack¡Xsending everything on the shelf crashing to the ground¡Xand wrapped it around herself while simultaneously grabbing the bar of soap lying on the ground and hurled it at Draco.

At the sudden impact of a certain projectile missile, Draco lost his balance and he crashed onto the floor. Directly onto Hermione. 

" GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!" She kept screaming at the top of her lungs (A surprising feat since she wasted most of her vocal stamina on screaming bloody murder.) She attempted to move away from him, but since her legs and most of her body was pinned down she didn't really go anywhere.

" SHUT UP!" Draco snarled pushing himself up, his ears still ringing frm the barrage of shrieks pouring out of Hermione's mouth. His head really hurts from where the soap made contact with his skull. A slightly red bruise was already making itself at home on his forehead. " Shit, that really hurts Granger."

" Good." Hermione spat, clutching the towel really close to her while glaring at the intruder with the intent of murder shining in her eyes. " Now get the hell out of my bathroom!"

" For you information Granger, this is my bathroom." Draco growled, still nursing his bruised forehead. 

" No it's not. This bathroom is connected to my room, and therefore, my bathroom." She said pointing to the door behind her. 

" If you look behind me, you'll see that the door leads to my room. Which concludes that this is my bathroom." Draco smirked.

" I don't give a damn who's bathroom it is right now. Just get the hell out so I can change." Hermione scowled darkly. She didn't want to spend anymore time sitting there on the cold bathroom floor in only her underwear. If she was going to argue with him, she wanted to be properly clothed first. 

" This is my bathroom, so I have the right to be here." Draco grinned, realizing that he could get a few laughs out of this as repercussion for her throwing the soap at his head.

" Well it's mine as well, so bugger off. I need to get dressed. I have a meeting to get to." Hermione said irritably. She was cold, embarrassed, and pissed. This morning was turning out to be the opposite of what she had hoped for. Whoever said happiness was fleeting jinxed the whole world and should die a painful death.

" Hm, I think you look better this way." Draco decided to go in for the kill. He might as well piss her off now so that he could get his shower and meet the professors.

" You sick, perverted, bastard!" Hermione screeched clenching her hands tighter around her towel. She was at a major disadvantage here. Being half naked isn't quite as intimidating as being dressed, especially in front of a guy. Her eyes darted around for any available weapons to either hurl or stab him with. Maybe she could grabbed the toilet cleaner and squirt it in his eyes to cause permanent blindness. That aught to teach him to keep his eyes to himself._ ' Wait, that didn't sound quite right...'_

" You're the one dressed in a towel." Draco wanted to know how far he could push her before his words lead him to his demise. He's probably nearing the edge by the quick look she threw at the stash of bathroom cleaners.

" Which is precisely why you should scram." Hermione felt like she was talking to an idiot. Any gentlemen would have the courtesy of getting out of her bathroom. But then again, this was Malfoy, she shouldn't expect too much. The dam on her anger was going to burst soon. The toilet cleaner idea was beginning to look better and better. She slowly inched back towards the arsenal of bathroom cleaning products.

Figuring he could probably get away at the last second, Draco continued with his game. " You know, many girls would love to be such a predicament."

Hermione just gave him a look that told him to take his ego and shove it up his ass.

" Women practically throw themselves at me." Draco decided to poke at her more. He really didn't much care about the fact that women do throw themselves at him. He wasn't interested in what they had to offer. But he just thought he'd put it up to provoke her. He figured she was a bit on the Feminist side.

" First of all, don't flatter yourself. Secondly, I'm not that type of woman. Thirdly, get the hell out." Hermione was now within reach of the arsenal. Just a little more.

  
Sudden knocks at the bathroom door connecting to Hermione's room made Hermione freeze like a deer caught in headlights.

" Miss Granger, we heard a scream and some odd sounds. Is everything alright in there? " They could hear the muffled voice of McGonagall on the other side.

Hermione's eyes widened in horror. Many what ifs were zipping through her head, each one more mortifying then the last. " I'm fine. I just slipped and fell really hard when I came out of the shower." She called back quickly, glaring at Draco with an 'utter-one-tiny-sound-and-I'll-bloody-your-arse' look.

Draco raised a blond eyebrow and decided to use this opportunity to further torment her. Opening his mouth as if to say something, he caught her horrified look a split second before she launched herself at him, slamming her hand on his mouth in the process. They tumbled to the ground with a soft thump.

" Miss Granger?" 

" I'm fine, really." Hermione said hastily, keeping her hand tightly clamped on Draco's mouth. " Make one wrong move and you'll regret it." She whispered in a chilling voice to his face. To make her point, she brought her knee up closer to a very vulnerable area. 

He just smirked at her with his silver-blue eyes, but did as she said, for he valued his ability to have children. Besides, he wondered when she'd realize she was lying on him in only her underwear and towel.

" Well, if you say so. I will see you at the meeting then." McGonagall replied, turning away from the door. Something didn't feel quite right, but she was no one to barge into other people's business.

Hermione waited until she couldn't hear the sound of McGonagall's shoes tapping the stone floor before jerking her hands off of Draco's mouth and quickly shoved her hands under the faucet and dousing it with a gallon of soap.

Ah the joy of making her squirm. Draco couldn't help but grin at his own brilliance. " As I said, women throw themselves at me. You seem to be no exception." He smirked at her, enjoying the way she tensed up and glared at him with the intent of murder, the second time that day, And it wasn't even breakfast yet. That must be some sort of record.

" Sod of you prick." Hermione just about had it. She was going to be late for her meeting, and god forbid if she's late because of that inconsiderate piece of Slytherin slime. She hastily went over to the counter by the sink to grab her cloth and left the bathroom as quickly as possible. She'll just have to do without drying her hair, or combing it. It was going to be a poofy mess, but there is always more then one way to skin a fish. Slamming the bathroom door, she started plotting her revenge. 

~*~*~ 

_~ Revenge is sweet, an eye for an eye. Once I get you, you will die. And if you run I'll hunt you down, for my thirst for revenge knows no bounds ~_, She cackled the morbid phrase to herself in a singsong type of way as she waited for her next class to begin. She was going to make him pay for his little intrusion this morning. She had to mule over ideas of how to get back at him while not get into _too_ much trouble. After all, it was her first day back and being Head girl meant that she was to be a "role model" to the younger years. She rolled her eyes at the term. Why not stick an "I'm-the-perfect-little-head-honcho-and-if-you-mess-with-me-I'll-screw-you-over" on the back of her uniform as well, just for kicks. She was in the middle of cackling crazily to herself when Professor Sprout walked into the Herbology classroom. 

" Alright class, please quite down. Today we will be working once again with a plant you all know quite well." Professor Sprout grinned, bring a giant potted fern-like thing onto the table. " This year, the Mandrakes have been flourishing quite nicely, and I am very please to be able to present to you such fine specimens." Professor Sprout looked absolutely thrilled at the prospect while the class all looked at her as if she was crazy. It was obvious that Mandrakes weren't on their favorites' list. 

Hermione couldn't blame them either. Those little humanoid looking plants were about as cute as a sewer rat (she was never too fond of rats, and that feeling intensified after discovering the true form of Scabbers) and as cuddly as a porcupine. But who was she to complain, being presented the perfect revenge weapon. Another thing about mandrake is that when properly cared for and healthy, they are really strong critters capable of hanging on to anything with a death-like grip. Hermione's hands were just itching to pick on up and create all sorts of havoc with it. But she first needed to complete her assignment first so she would get a grade, and then she'll sacrifice it to the God of Revenge. She even thought up a good excuse to make it look like an "accident" incase she was questioned. Just when she was going to put her plan into action, lo and behold, the almighty angel and devil consciences strike. 

**_' What are you doing? This isn't like you to cause trouble in a class room.'_** Angel-Hermione said in a stern tone, complete with golden halo and feathered wings.

**_' To hell with that, you can do anything you want.' _**Devil-Hermione chirped brandishing her pitchfork at Angel-Hermione.

**_' You're Head girl. You're suppose to be a role model.'_** Angel-Hermione threw a dirty glare at Devil-Hermione, shaking her magic wand at Devil-Hermione.

**_' Which is precisely why you're going to do it. Someone's got to show the younger years how to deal with those perverted Slytherins.' _**Devil-Hermione cackled with glee, her pointy tail swishing side to side in her glee.

**_' You're are their Shepard, do not lead them astray.'_** Angel-Hermione reprimanded.

**_' Who's leading them astray? We're just keeping up the tradition.'_** Devil-Hermione held her chin up with pride.

~*~*~

No one knew of the havoc brewing just right on top of Hermione's head. To the rest of the world, She looked to be very deep in thought. Very, very, _very_, deep in thought.

~*~*~

**_' The wizarding world has finally found it's tranquility, we should not be disturbing it by causing animosity within the student populace,'_** Angel-Hermione fought back, quite proud of the fact that she used so many big words in once sentence.

**_' It's just harmless¡Xwell almost harmless¡Xfun. It's not like we're gonna go on a killing spree.' _**Devil-Hermione rolled her eyes and switched her pitchfork into the other hand.

**_' Well one thing will lead to another. You'll never know. The human mind is a very malleable thing. Very easily influenced or appeased.'_** Angel-Hermione stated very seriously.

**_' What are you, a bloody psychiatrist now? I can't believe you just insulted our intelligence.'_** Devil-Hermione's tail spiked up as she pointed her pitchfork once again, threateningly in Angel-Hermione's direction. **_' You watch too many psycho movies.'_**

**_' You're the one always immersed in those Romance movies.'_** Angel-Hermione brandished her weapon as well, ready to fend of Devil-Hermione's pitchfork.****

**_' At least I'm not always watching blood, guts, and gore spew all over the place.'_** Devil-Hermione stuck out her tongue.

**_' At least I'm not into all that cheesy-lovey-dovey stuff.'_** Angel-Hermione made a gagging noise.

**_' Why you!'_** Devil-Hermione launched herself at Angel-Hermione and an all out brawl ensued.

(A/N: I'm considering on drawing a piece just for this scene. :D)

~*~*~

Finally getting sick of hearing herself bicker, she raised her hand and flicked the two figures off her mind. Too many damn voices all talking at once in her head. Snapping back to focus, she heard the last bits of Professor Sprout's directions on handling the Mandrakes " Now grasp them tightly around the top, out of their arms reach. They are very healthy this year and undoubtedly quite strong. It would be a chore to try and get them to let go of you..."

At the mere mention of that fact, Hermione couldn't help but snicker. Her opportunity had arrived. Slowly she reached for her Mandrake...

~*~*~

He had been feeling a bit edgy ever since he left the safety of his room. Although he didn't show it on his appearance, that didn't mean he didn't feel it. He kept telling himself that he wasn't paranoid or anything and that he was just feeling a bit unease because of what happened that morning in the bathroom. 

If her looks could kill, he would have been a very, very dead man. But alas, he wasn't dead, but something we telling him that perhaps being alive was a bad idea at the moment. Even as he muttered to himself that Malfoys weren't paranoid, he kept darting his eyes towards Hermione. Something was going to happen. He could just feel it emanating like waves from her. Of course, her deranged grinning didn't do much to ease his suspicions. _' I better keep a close eye on her.'_

**_' Are you sure you're not just ogling her?' _**The all mighty conscience rears it's sleek head.

_' Why would I waste my eyesight on her? I'm just considering my welfare.'_ Draco could keep a sardonic smirk off his face. Imagine that, Draco Malfoy, afraid of a lowly muggle. Granted, a very smart and powerful muggle with a pair of nice legs, but still muggle nonetheless._' Must stay focused.'_

' **_If you keep looking at her people will think you fancy her or something.'_** His conscience perked up.

_' Interesting concepts you build. You just forget one thing. You can't build things without a foundation.' _Draco was starting to get annoyed by his stupid conscience. Ignoring people was an easy matter, but a conscience was in a league of it's own.

**_' There is foundation. You've known her for 7 years of your life, taunting and competing with her. You friggen share a bathroom which you didn't know about until this morning. What else do you need in a foundation?'_** His conscience was just too smart for it's own good. Why couldn't it make itself useful in solving arithmecy equations or that those blasted transfiguration homeworks? **_' Not to mention you saw her half naked. I don't suppose many men have had the privileges you have been bestowed.'_**

_' Just shut your yap. You just brought up the precise point why I'm keeping my eyes on her.'_ Draco almost growled in annoyance. His conscience was bugging the hell outta him.

**_' What? One look wasn't enough?'_** His conscience had the gall to sound confused.

_' I've wondered for many years and have finally come to a sound conclusion'_ Enlightenment dawned on the annoyed Slytherin._ 'It's because of your stupidity in certain situations that I end up in all these bad predicaments.'_

**_' And you just realized this? What do you want? A prize?.' _** It seemed that his conscience also had a pretty good knack for sarcasm. Draco could just slap himself now. His conscience wasn't helping him concentrate on what the short woman was saying about those blasted plants, or on the fact of his well-being. So spaced out arguing with his conscience, Draco didn't catch Hermione pick up her mandrake, an innocent grin pasted on her angelic face...

~*~*~

A/N: Well well, I finally got a little bit of time in my schedule to do some fic writing. I felt so deprived for these past months. Well, anyways. There is some good news. I have started a good portion of the next chapter and so that should be out hopefully sooner then this one was. Anyways I thank all those of you have stuck with me so far. As always, your reviews are well appreciated.


	11. So far so good UNREVISED

A/N: Well well, I got some meager time off during my short 4 day break from college (for advising and veteran's day) and so I put it to much good use (besides studying for my BIO and CHEM). Anyways here's the outcome of my mad rush to actually put something down on paper. Enjoy.

~*~*~

If people didn't already know that Hermione was a Gryffindor, they would have probably mistaken her for a Slytherin. Her mouth was twisted in a leering smirk, while her eyes shone with a gleam of someone who had just done something satisfyingly evil. 

That's how scary she looked. 

_' Detention. On my first day. With Malfoy no less.'_ Although those thoughts should have sent her on a suicidal rampage, Hermione was in fact absolutely delirious with joy. 

In fact, the whole package was worth the utterly shocked look of all the students present, Malfoy yowls of pain, plus the added bonus of seeing Professor Sprout trying disengage the demented Mandrake from Malfoy's platinum locks.

That's how deranged she was.

Detention was inevitable so why bitch about it? Why waste energy on whining and moaning, when she could put that energy into good use thinking up defense and offense strategies? 

Although she wasn't one to hold a grudge for _too_ long, she wasn't going to pass up an opportunity when it was bluntly waving a banner in her face. Besides, taking a good guess, she knew that Malfoy wasn't one to just sit back and forgive such a humiliation. She'd better be on her toes since he'd probably be giving her hell later on. 

She fought the urge to give into deranged cackles figuring she didn't need to attract any more odd stares her way. 

Somehow her day was looking much brighter.

~*~*~

He walked down the hall, a deep scowl set upon his handsome features. His daunting blue eyes glared at anyone who dared to approach him. All the students pasted themselves along the side of the halls, giving him a wide berth less they fall victim to his wrath. 

He winced (while still scowling) as he ran his hand over his platinum locks, or the large bump hidden under. Damn that stupid Granger girl. Not only was he sporting a lump the size of Mt. Olympus on his head (plus the slightly visible bruise on his forehead from the soap), she also made a fool of him in class.

No one makes fool out of a Malfoy without repercussion. 

With a smirk set on his lips, and an evil gleam in his eyes, Draco Malfoy declared war on Hermione Granger. 

~*~*~

_' So far so good.' _Hermione sighed as she continued with her outline. She expected some sort of an attack before lunch break, but Malfoy hadn't even lifted a finger yet. Perhaps she was just being overly paranoid; after all she had spent 2 years away from Hogwarts. Things could have changed. Maybe she was worried for nothing...

Maybe not...

But right now she had other worries to deal with. Her peace and quite homework time was being sacrificed for the greater good of other people's social life.

She couldn't help but groan as the insistent chatter around her increased in its intensity. That's what happens when the two most vociferous girls of Hogwarts sat together during study hall. It didn't help that they were trying with all their might to drag her away from her beloved work.

" Wow, Hermione, what shampoo do you use? It makes your hair so light and bouncy." Parvati asked, tugging one of Hermione's curls like a curious child, and watching it bounce right back into place.

" Herbal Essence." Hermione said not looking up from her parchment.

" You mean that one where you open the lid and sexy buff men pop out?" Lavender said excitedly.

" Yes, that one." Hermione just rolled her eyes at the comment before going back to her writing. She didn't know how they knew about the muggle commercial, but didn't want to waste her homework time by asking. 

" So is it true?" Parvati asked. Seeing that Hermione wasn't answering, she poked her with her quill to get her attention.

" What?" Hermione hissed. She needed to get her homework done before her detention tonight and all this interruption is making it really hard to accomplish that goal.

" Is it true?" Parvati asked again.

" Is what true?" Hermione asked, a bit annoyed. She just wanted to finish her homework in peace, is that too much to ask?

" Is it true that buff men pop out of the shampoo bottle." Parvati said slowly as if talking to a not too bright child.

" No." Hermione replied a bit miffed. They were interrupting her quality work time to ask her these types of questions? 

" Aw, why not?" Parvati giggled. " I'm pretty sure they'll make a bloody fortune if it were true."

" Muggles have yet to stumble upon technology that will shrink men and stuff them in bottles." Hermione replied wryly. 

" If I had enough money, I'd invest in the idea of creating a line of hair and body products that come with sexy men packed in each bottle." Parvati grinned at the idea. She could tell that Hermione was thinking that it was just a joke, but for Parvati and Lavender, it was going to become one of the greatest pranks.

" I wouldn't put it past you." Hermione said dryly. Where her friend's brain was, she had no idea. She just hoped that it hadn't taken a permanent leave of absence. Deciding to try and finish her homework before going to detention, Hermione buried her head in her books again. They continued on blabbing away as if she didn't exist between them.

_Scribble, scribble._

Lavender was laughing uproariously by now, " And then he went and—" 

_Scribble, scribble. _

Parvati was practically in the same situation." Oh my, I can't believe that he'd—"

_Scribble, scribble._

" She shouldn't have done that—"

_SCRIBBLESCRIBBLESCRIBBLE (a.k.a. the noise of a quill scratching out something)_

_::The sound of a quill pen being put down::_

" Look if you two are just going to keep on talking, then maybe it would be a wise idea for you to sit together, not on each side of me." Hermione heaved a big sigh, taking her scratched out homework and shoving it aside.

" The only reason we're sitting on each side of you is so that you'd be more prompted to join in the conversation." Lavender looked exasperated, thinking that with that brain of her, Hermione would have caught onto the drift.

" I've got work to do, a detention to serve later tonight. Don't have the time to mingle." Hermione muttered picking up her quill and dipping into her ink well. 

" Ah yes, detention. Your first day back and you've already managed to dig yourself a hole." Lavender's lips quirked in a large grin. " we're so damn proud of you."

" Thanks. I knew you guys would appreciate my sufferings." Hermione rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to get anything done at this rate.

" Hey, what are friends for?" Parvati join in cheekily. " So what do you think he'll have you do?"

" Dunno. But anything short of torture is probably out of question." Hermione replied wryly 

" We shall pray for you." Parvati patted Hermione's shoulder in mock sympathy.

" I thank you for your kindness." Hermione placed a hand on her heart with fake sincerity.

" We bid you safety on your journey though it will be filled with many treacheries." Lavender joined in with gusto.

" If I do not come back alive, bury a rose in my memory." Hermione wiped an imaginary tear away.

" We shall never forget you." Both Lavender and Parvati ended with exaggerated dramatic.

Unable to keep the ridicules conversation going, the three girls broke down laughing uproariously, homework, detention, and men popping out of shampoo bottles temporarily forgotten.

~*~*~

A/N: Sorry this one was a bit short, but I thought I'd divide this chapter up into 2 parts, just because. I wanted to post this chapter out much earlier, but if I had kept it all one part, then I'd probably wouldn't post it until winter break, and that would just be horrible ne? Anyways, I'm already working on the second part, and that should be out by winter break.


	12. All His Fault UNREVISED

A/N: Well due to some iffiness on the FFN uploading part, I apologize for the wasted chapter space of the AN in chapter 12.  Sorry about the lateness, but I had College finals and college forms to fill out. (I have senior obligations)

Of course, my computer ran into some problems again. _!!! Stupid computer wasn't working right I suppose. *Kanami kicks her PC and it whirls and sputters* 

Kanami: Oh no, don't do this to me. *Coos and pets her computer trying to make it feel better after being brutally kicked in. *

PC: *sputters and sputters some more*

Kanami: Don't start. *A panicked look crossed her face. *

PC: *Making sounds as if it's dying*

Kanami: Start! I mean Start! *Freaking out as usual when her computer threatens to die. *

(That tidbit was from an excerpt from _Gone in 60 seconds_, slightly altered of course.) :P

Thank you to **aka-whatever1213**, **burgandyred**, and **Sylvan Tears**for pointing out my typos so I can fix them and not look so stupid. Thanks a lot guys! :P

Now on with the show.

~*~*~

_' Detention. With Granger.'_ Draco idly tapped at his parchment with his quill. Since divination was never the most interesting subject to study, he had time to just let his mind wander. Who gives a damn about reading fortunes in tea leaves anyways? All they ever do is float around in no particular patterns. Trelawney need to have her head checked. It seems that "death" was her favorite cup of tea so to speak, which amused him to no ends. He could just picture it. 

::: Professor Trelawney pointing at a recently brewed cut of tea. In low ominous voice (more like a 'I-have-a-sore-throat' type), she would said " If the tealeaves float left, you'll die by falling off a cliff, if the leaves float right, you'll die by being hit by wombat. And if the leaves twirl in circles, then you'll die by gorging on meat pies" :::

Or something like that.

If that wasn't ridicules then he didn't know what was.

Snapping back to focus, he saw the old woman point at one of the Hufflepuffs girls and say something which made the girl's eyes wide.

Hell, the old crone was at it again. They need to have her admitted to St. Mungo's soon before she poisons their minds. Pretty soon they'd be seeing omens not just in tea leaves.

He tuned out the class and let his thoughts wander again. He didn't relish spending detention with _her _(meaning Hermione), but since he had cursed her with every colorful word within his vocabulary (including Latin and French), Sprout wasn't going to let him off the hook just because he was the victim. 

Hopefully he taught the class a few new words or else his sacrifice would be in vain.

She may have won the battle, but the war was far from over.

Now that he had time to allow his anger to cool off from the embarrassment, Draco couldn't help but smirk at the amusement and irony of the situation. It was her first day back at Hogwarts and she already had detention with him. He couldn't help but feel gleeful that he was trashing her "perfect-know-it-all" reputation. Despite the fact that it was at his expense, which of course would be avenged later, Draco couldn't help but chuckle at the simplicity of her revenge. 

Oh, he could do much better. 

He _would_ do better. 

~*~*~

What a wonderful way to end the day. 

Double Potions.

With the Slytherins nonetheless.

Oh the_ Joy_.

She snuck a glance towards the Slytherin's side of the room. Since it was the first day, there wasn't any assigned seating, so everyone sat where they pleased, as long as they were on their side of the room. No one would willingly go and sit in enemy territory. It would be like throwing a peanut into a pen of badly starved squirrels. With sharp jagged teeth...

Hermione strolled casually towards the far side of the room, trying to look inconspicuous in her attempt to get herself as far away from Malfoy as possible. She didn't want to look like a coward, since it'd give him more of an edge. She wasn't going to give him the right to call her a coward. It would be a shame to her house. She was a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors were not cowards! 

They may retreat to regroup or come up with a better plan, but they don't **_ever_** run away.

_' That's it. I'm just falling back so I can come up with a defense plan.' _Hermine tried to tell herself, but obviously it wasn't working as well as she had hoped. Cowardice smashed that idea down with a sledgehammer.

" Hey Hermione." Nerville said, seeing Hermione just stand there spacing out. 

" Oh hi Nerville. How have you've been?" Hermione snapped out of her reverie and asked kindly, hoping for a distraction to keep her mind from overloading on thoughts of cowardice.

" Doing better." He grinned as they all sat down and waited for Snape to show up to class.

" That's good to hear." Hermione smiled taking out her quill and a piece of parchment, getting her supplies ready.

After a few more minutes of chatter, the classroom door opened and Snape walked in briskly, his robes billowing slightly as he moved down the aisle towards the front of the room.

" Alright, stand at the edge of the room and refrain from speaking." Snape begin his instructions promptly.

An audible groan was heard as the students all packed up their belongings. Hermione had dreaded this moment since she remembered the seating arrangement that her friends had told her about in their letters to her last year. She just prayed to whatever god was kind enough to listen to her that she'd end up being paired with anyone but Malfoy.

" Weasley, Bulstrode" 

" Potter, Zabini"

"Parkinson, Longbottom"

But luck was never too fond of Hermione. 

" Malfoy, Granger" 

Neither of them said a word to each other as they waited for the seating assignment to be done with. Although they said nothing, that didn't mean their thoughts were silent.

_' Oh god. Now I'm gonna be ultra paranoid.'_ Hermione avoided looking at Draco.

Keeping her face neutral so no one knew her actual reaction to being paired up with Malfoy. She tried to look on the bright side. At least he was smart, and so she didn't have to worry too much about her grades being sucked down the drain. But of course other things were going to go down the drain, her sanity, her pride, her well-being ... the list could go on.

It was 1 pro vs. 100 or so cons. The odds weren't bad to say the most.

~*~*~

_' Well, well, just as I predicted Snape would do.'_ Draco didn't seem at all surprised that he was paired up with Granger. He even expected it. Granger was pretty good at potions, and so he figured that they'd be paired together since they knew the subject well. This was going to be perfect. 

As soon as Snape started writing on the board the ingredients they were going to need for the potion they were making as an exercise to begin the year. Hermione busied herself with scribbling down the notes on a piece of parchment while Draco did the same. Neither still said a word to the other.

After the lecture was over, they began the exercise. They were making a shrinking potion, used only to shrink objects, when applied once to an object, it will shrink the object 50%, then another 50% when applied again. The potion was easy to make and only needed simple ingredients.

Since Hermione finished her notes first, she went up to the front of the room to get the ingredients for their potion. Launching into working on the potion, she kept her attention on her work, while still mindful of what Malfoy was doing. She couldn't be too careful.

But being cautious was never one of her strong points.

~*~*~

He almost couldn't keep the smirk off his face as he watched Granger immerse herself in brewing the potion. The potion was so simple to make, it was something they had learned in 2nd year. Knowing Granger, she'd probably be able to do it with her eyes closed and hands tied behind her back. It was obvious to him, and probably to everyone in the room that she was going to pretend he didn't exist. Such naïveté was truly amusing.

Since Granger seemed so content to just make the potion herself (more like hogging it so that Draco couldn't sabotage it), Draco decided to let her do all the work and reap the fruits of her labor. After all, she was putting her efforts into the potion of her demise, and who was he to interfere with such a noble cause?

~*~*~

She had almost finished the potion, and Malfoy was still just sitting there, staring at her in that nonchalant manner of his. It was irritating, and making her down right paranoid to the extreme.

_' That's probably his intent. To make you jumpy so that you screw up on the potion and make an idiot of yourself.' _Hermione resisted the urge to edge farther away from Malfoy. She was already at the edge of the table as it is, nearly standing in the aisle, but even that didn't seem far enough. His glare must have homing devices or something. 

_' Ah, finally.'_ He almost purred as he watched her put in the last ingredient and stir it around. His revenge was at hand. 

He watched in anticipated glee as she scooped out a minute portion of the potion. Just as she was about to put the little spoonful into the small glass beaker, Draco launched his plans into action.

It was show time.

~*~*~

" Kyaaaaaaaahhh" Hermione yelped, so surprised that she dropped the beaker and it shattered on the stone floor. It rang out like a gunshot.

All heads turned towards their table. 

" What is the meaning of disrupting the class Miss Granger?" Snape walked towards them surveying the mess. Snickering could be heard from the Slytherins.

" It was an accident sir. _Something_ bumped the table. It surprised me and I dropped the beaker." Hermione stated crisply, the less she said the better. She knew all eyes were on her. _' So this must be his master plan.' _She inwardly scoffed. It was a bit embarrassing, but being picked on by Snape in potions was nothing new.

" Next time you decide to be surprised, Miss Granger, do so without breaking school equipment." Snape dismissed, gesturing that they clean up the mess.

After Snape left, Hermione squat down to pick up the glass pieces. For some reason she felt like her cloth was a bit tight around the middle, but brushed it off as a thought cutting back on the chocolates. After she threw the bits of glass into the trash, Hermione began to feel very uncomfortable, almost as if something was restricting her ability to breath. Something was nagging at the back of her brain, jumping and screaming to be noticed. Her previous experiences with the git was telling her that he was more devious and way more vengeful then most, and he probably has something up his sleeve. '_You don't think..._'

Looking down at her robe, she gasped, noticing for the first time that the sleeves of her robe were to her at her mid arm, and still slowly making its way up.

Her cloths were shrinking!

Then it suddenly hit her. Malfoy wasn't after getting her in trouble. He was going for _utter and total_ embarrassment. Fuming within, Hermione vehemently refused to succumb to his tactic (however underhanded it was), she let her cloth close in on her. She would rather be choked to death by her robe and sweater before allowing him the satisfaction of her going along with his plan.

After a few seconds more, things were getting very uncomfortable. Her airway was starting to be forced into the size of a straw. It felt like she was being hugged too tightly, making her nauseous and uncomfortable.

Her self-preservation and her stubbornness started to duke it out against each other. One side was going for the survival and humiliation option, while the other argued for keeping the resolve of not following through with the ferret's plan. Obviously self-preservation won because she started to painfully remove her still shrinking robe. She was glad that it was a shrinking potion, and not a shrinking charm. The charm version worked much faster then the potion version, but the potion version was more successful then the charm version at shrinking things without damage. 

She shed her robe and dropped it on the ground, watching with fascinated horror as the garment continues to shrink to a half-sized. 

" I knew you want me, but I didn't think you'd do it in public?" Draco's lips curved into a vicious smile. He had said the phrase loud enough for the people around to hear. He let the rest take care of itself.

The activity in the room stopped rather fast. They all stared with saucer eyes as Hermione begin to strip out of her sweater.

" Don't delude yourself. I'd rather have 'death by shrinking sweater' carved on my grave then waste myself on you. " Hermione grounded out as she struggled to take her sweater off. The neckline was a bit tight against her neck, so she had to pull really hard to get it to come off, leaving her in a deep red tank top. Thankfully her tank top wasn't into the fad of shrinking.  __

" What in the blazes are you doing?" Snape kept his tone neutral, though his eyebrows did raise a few millimeters. The class snickered again.

" Keeping myself from being strangled, sir." Hermione wheezed out. Her skirt was shrinking too, but there was no way in hell she was going to take that off. The calf-long skirt was now up to a little above the knees with a waist size that was just a few too small, but she bore with it (though she did unclasp one or two buttons at the top to give her some breathing room). She had to salvage some of her dignity somehow.

" Explain." Snape said glaring at Hermione, leaning against his desk.

She wanted to just turn around and kill Malfoy on the spot. Who cares if she went to Azkaban for life? She'd be a happy camper. 

If she said it was all Malfoy's fault, he'd probably deny it (though no one would be inclined to believe him) but Snape would still undoubtedly take points off her house. Then again, if she made a lame ass excuse, Snape would still take off points anyways, but probably not as much. Oh what to do, oh what to do. " The potion must have spilt onto my cloth when I dropped the beaker."

Snape nodded, " Hand me your robes. I'll change it back." 

" Thank you professor." Hermione didn't smile, but at least she was polite. She picked up her sweater and robe from the ground and handed them to the potion master.

" It's all your damn fault." Hermione hissed after Snape had walked off and out of the classroom. It was really cold without her sweater or robe, but it would have been a lot colder if she had kept the sweater on, if you catch her drift.

" What did I do?" The lying son of a ferret had the gall to sound innocent. Heck he even batted his eyelashes slightly. She had to tamp down the urge to throttle him, opting to fist her hands to her side.

_'Must not murder him in a room full of witnesses. Must not murder him in a room full of witnesses. Think happy thought. Think happy thoughts.'_ She took a deep breath, well, as deep as her shrunken-waistline skirt would let her, and kept the mantra rolling around in her brain. If Malfoy didn't watch it soon, she was going to beat him within an inch of his life use the bloody chair he was sitting his _innocent_ arse on. " You kicked the table and made it knock into me."

" Please, one as graceful as I am couldn't _possibly_ do something so...un-me?" He smiled charmingly. Well it would be considered charming if the person he was smiling at wasn't thinking of the many ways to kill him and bury his body.

Hermione's eyebrow twitched. " I have every right to believe you did it. After all, I don't see anyone near this table within kicking distance."

" You could have dropped the potion yourself without any thing bumping into you seeing as to how close to the edge you are." Draco continued to bat away the accusations she threw at him. " If I recall correctly, I was no where near the potion. I just stood by and watched."

" So now you admit to being lazy." 

" Ahem, Miss Granger—" Snape began, seeing that to leave them alone after such an incident was a mistake. They were totally ignoring him, so focused on trying to rip each other apart with their words. The class snickered on.

" It wasn't my choice. You were hogging the whole thing. I didn't feel like fighting you for it, so I just let you do all the work. I must give you credit for getting the potion right." Even Draco was ignoring Snape, pretending not to have heard him.

" I may have made the potion, but you made me drop it." 

" Well now, you just admitted that it was your fault. If you hadn't made the potion I wouldn't have gotten the chance to dump it on you now would I?" 

Underneath the fake smile, Hermione was fuming with anger, "Malfoy, if you were never born, then I wouldn't be in this bloody mess."

" 10 points from Gryffindor for disrupting class." Snape barked, finally catching the attention of the two students. 

Hermione looked aghast, but kept her mouth shut, while Draco sported a grin of victory. It was potions after all, the favors were stacked in the Slytherin's direction. She sent him a 'this-is-not-over-yet' glare, which he returned.

" If you two are done with your petty arguments. Miss Granger, here are you cloth." Snape said handing the sweater and robe back to Hermione, glaring at the both of them, more so at Hermione. "Class dismissed."

The war was on.

~*~*~

A/N: Ah, evil, evil me. But hey! This chapter is actually decent sized. I should be studying my Chemistry and Calculus for my final tomorrow, but obviously I'm not. Anyways I'm going to go off and study (and watch L&O SVU) I hope this chapter will last you guys a while. (P.S. I hope there aren't too many mistakes in there. I didn't go over it with a fine-tooth comb, just a regular one)

Ciao.


	13. Problems UNREVISED

A/N:  I GOT INTO THE COLLEGE OF MY CHOICE!!! I'm so happy!! But now I'm swamped with scholarships and such. :P I'm such a lazy bum.

This chapter will be confusing, **so pay close attention.**

Now on with the fun.

~*~*~

Autumn was setting in comfortably on Hogwart grounds. The leaves had turned golden, red and brown, littering the floor with its bright colors. It was already one month into the school year, the excitement that had reigned the first week settled down into the "old news" category. 

That didn't mean things were peaceful.

The Head Boy and Head Girl were often together arranging meetings and the likes. But rarely during those times were they ever seen civilly conversing with one another. It was always either subdued yelling, hissing, snarling, threatening, taunting…etc. Peaceful negotiation was a foreign concept. But even with their seemingly non-existent ability to coexist, they managed to get things accomplished at a pretty quick rate. Which, to the rest of the school, was one of those great mysteries that may never be solved. Like the sightings of Elvis and UFOs.

~*~*~

Hermione walked quickly down the empty hallway towards Potions class. Professor McGonagall had sent her on an errand to give some sort of list to Professor Caraway. She was the DADA professor who took over when the last one refused to come back after being set on fire and nailed to the ceiling. Hermione rolled her eyes. You would think there was someone out there that could stick out the year. Hermione didn't like to miss class, but since McGonagall said it was important, she agreed. Besides, missing the last 20 minutes of class shouldn't cause any problems. 

The echoing taps of her shoes ended as she stopped in front of the DADA room. The Slytherins and Hufflpuffs shared the class together, a great relief to the staff. It seemed that Dumbledore was playing it safe by not putting the Slytherins and Gryffindors in the same place where dangerous spells were being practiced. 

Amused by her thoughts, she turned the doorknob and stepped in.

She never saw what hit her.

~*~*~

_' Buggering hell.' _Draco gritted his teeth as the Hufflepuff he was working with swung his wand with another unsuccessful attempt at performing the _acescere_ spell. 

" Doesn't seem to be working." James (the Hufflepuff) frowned setting down his wand and looking at his book.

_' No shit.'_ Draco was resisting the urge to tell the chap next to him that he should work as an orchestra conductor rather then a wizard. But instead of vocalizing his thought, he said, " Don't swing so far to the left."

" Uh…Thanks." James said as he picked up his wand to try again. If just felt weird to get help from the all-evil-bad-ass Slytherin. True, he has been being somewhat decent to other for the last year, but it still just felt weird.

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes and smirk. It never ceases to amuse him and annoy him that people still act like it's some sort of bloody miracle when he helps them. Granted that his helpful moments were few, but they should be over it by now; it's been a bloody year already. 

A click at the door drew his attention. He only had time to blink before he passed out, never knowing what hit him.

~*~*~

_' What the hell happened?'_ Draco thought as he slowly pulled away from unconsciousness. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Hannah Abbot's face looming above his. 

" What in damnations are you doing?" Draco growled, waiting for the pounding in his head to subdue before working on other movements. He was sporting a good-sized headache and just wanted to be left alone.

Hannah blinked in surprise." What's wrong with you? Did that hit jar loose too many brain cells?" Hannah said giving Hermione an offended look. What was wrong with the girl? Hermione wouldn't talk like that. 

While at the same time Hermione shriek quite loudly when she found Susana getting ready to plant her lips on her face. " What do you think you're doing?!"

"Giving you CPR of course." Susana said and tried to close in again. Hermione wasn't going to let that happen. " Whatever you're thinking, you better stay away from me. I'm not a lesbian."

" What are you talking about Draco?" Crabbe said confused with all the commotion around him.

" Hermione, are you hurt anywhere?" Hannah asked with concern. Maybe her friend was just suffering from some backlash.

'Did he just call me Draco?' Hermione's eyes widened as she sat up.  
'Did she just call me Hermione?' Draco eyes widened and he abruptly sat up.

That was when they saw each other. And pandemonium broke out. 

" OH MY GOD!" 

" BLOODY HELL!" 

~*~*~

Up in his chambers, Dumbledore looked up from the pile of parchments he was writing. Taking off his spectacles, he picked up a cloth near his inkwell and polished the lenses. Placing them back on, he resumed his writing, his eyes sparkling behind the newly cleaned spectacles.

~*~*~

*NOTE: This will become a bit confusing. The name in front of the [] is the body, and the name in the [] is the person. Does that make sense? Try to picture the scene through a 3rd person's view.

~*~*~

Just to make sure that he was indeed in seeing what he was seeing, Draco put both his hands on his chest and found that there was indeed something there that wasn't there before. Yep, he's in her body alright. Or at least _he_ was now a _she_.

" Keep your-er-my hands off my body you Perv!" Draco [Hermione] hissed, tackling herself, however weird that sounded. 

" Get off of me!" Hermione [Draco] growled, trying to push Draco [Hermione] off of her.

" You keep your hands off of my body!" Draco [Hermione] threatened with a scowl. 

Draco had to fight off the disturbing feeling of seeing himself glare at him as well as straddling his—er—her stomach. _' Oh god. This is disturbing.'_

" Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger will you please calm down." Carina Caraway stood next to the pair, trying to get some semblance of control back in her classroom. She was close to hysterics herself. How was she going to explain it to the Headmaster? 

The scowling teens turned their glare full force on her and the professor had to fight the urge to twitch. Clearing her throat she looked down at the two freaked-out teens, " If you will calm down just a little, we can fix this problem." 

The scowls on both faces lessened as the two awkwardly got up from the floor. By now the whole classroom was blanketed in an awkward silence, no one wanted to add fuel to the already blazing bonfire. 

" Well.'" Hermione [Draco] said in an impatient tone brushing brown hair out of her face. Draco was acutely aware of just how her body swayed at his every command and the feel of her skin whenever he brushed away a strand of hair.  Hearing her voice speak his words was defiantly another weird sensation, but somewhat pleasant._ ' Oh you've gone and lost your marbles.' _Draco berated himself. He wanted out ASAP.

Hermione wasn't fairing any better. Every time she shifted, she could feel his body's response and she was well aware of just how much power and grace was behind the sleek frame. She wanted to get away from the disturbing feeling as quickly as she could before she becomes too aware of anything else. " Do you know how to change us back?"

Carina tried not to let her uneasiness show on her face as she racked her brain on what she should say. This wasn't the first time she'd seen something like this happen. Lucky for her she knew the cure for it; unlucky for her, she had the worse couple to work with. Their animosity towards each other was no secret and the cure required a certain cooperation on their part. 

The Gods must be having a good laugh right now. 

She knew the ingredients for the potion that would clear up this mess, but since she was never too good with actually making it, she figured she'd never forgive herself if she screws up, or actually, they'd never forgive her if she screwed up. Her other option would be to have someone of potions expertise make the potion and administer it. But of course that would kill her plan of not telling the headmaster about the incident. Ah the choices.

Resigned to her fate, Carina walked over to her desk and dipped her quill in the inkwell then scribbled furiously on a piece of parchment. After waiting a few seconds for the ink to dry, she picked it up and handed it to Hermione [Draco]. " Go to Professor Snape and have him make this potion. After you drink it you should be right as rain again." 

They thanked her and awkwardly hurried out the door.

_'There goes my paycheck.'_

~*~*~

They walked down the hall silently, both refusing to speak to each other. They kept an exact one-foot distance between them as they travel towards the Potions classroom.

Finally arriving at their intended destination, they knocked on the door all the while still not speaking to each other.

" Come in." Came the low, sharp reply.

Hermione walked in followed by Draco and they went and stood in front of the Professor.

" Is there something you need?" He asked, not looking up from his parchments.

" Yes there is, professor." Draco [Hermione] said woodenly. " We've come across a problem you see."

" Hm." Snape just continued to scribble on. " And what is this problem?"

" It's a complicated problem." Draco [Hermione] continued on, trying to find the right words.

" Hm." Was the response.

Hermione [Draco] gave Draco [Hermione] a sharp look that told her she was beating around the bushes and not getting straight to the point. She shot him a look in return that told him to do it himself than if he felt so inclined to.

" Professor," Hermione [Draco] said. " The problem is that Granger and I have switched bodies and we need you to make a potion to change us back."

That got Snape to stop scribbling and look up at them. He didn't say anything, but looked at Draco, then to Hermione. A silent moment went by before he spoke up, " How did that happen?"

" DADA accident." Hermione [Draco] replied quickly. There wasn't much that they could elaborate on. After all, no one would tell them anything. " My guess is we got hit by a _acescere _spell."

" Interesting." Snape's lips twisted into a small grin.

Hermione wanted to twitch. Snape smiling was never a good thing. Heck, any Slytherin smiling wasn't a good thing. 

" She gave us this." Hermione [Draco] held out the parchment.

" Hm." Snape scanned the parchment then went over and rummage around in his cupboards. 

After a few minutes of digging through the ingredients cabinet, Snape returned to his desk holding a few colorful ingredients in his hand. " The _reverius_ potion should change you back." He said, setting the colorful jars down on the table. With a flick of his wand he started a small fire under a cauldron. 

~*~*~ Some time Later ~*~*~

" I've made the potion." Snape said gesturing to the two little vials they held. " The instructions are very simple. First, you drink the potion. Once you've swallowed the potion, you must keep your mouths shut." 

" Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?" Draco [Hermione] grumbled looking at the little vial in his hand. 

A small smirk appeared on Snape's feature as he continued his instructions. "Next, you'll need to get close to each other so that when you open your mouths you can quickly seal it to each other's. Keep your mouths together for about 2 minutes and then you'll have finished the exchange."

"What! Are you crazy!" Draco [Hermione] said pointing at Hermione [Draco]. "I'm not going to kiss him!"

" Well, I don't want to kiss you either." Hermione [Draco] said acidly. The stupid chit didn't have to sound so appalled by the idea. It's not like she's never kissed him before.

" I did not say anything about kissing. I merely said you'd seal your mouth together." Snape said as if it was nothing out of the ordinary that two mortal enemies would be in liplock.

" And that is kissing." Draco [Hermione] said pointedly, color flooding his face.

" Well, that's the only way to return your souls safely to the rightful bodies." Professor Snape said matter-of-factly. He, for one, was enjoying this awkward display, but had to keep his scowl in place. It wouldn't be good for his reputation if he broke out in hysterical laughter right now. 

" Isn't there another way?" Draco [Hermione] was trying to think up every possible solution. " Like hitting us with a spell?"

" No, it would be too dangerous. It was by luck that your souls landed in each other's bodies. If I were to hit you again with the same spell your souls might jump to another body and displace someone else's soul. It could cause a chain reaction. It's too risky." 

" I don't want to kiss you." Draco [Hermione] said glaring at her own body. It was a freaky experience; looking and talking to herself without a mirror...She would have to kiss herself, which made it doubly freaky.

" Well, feeling's mutual darlin'." Hermione [Draco] snarled. "But I'm not letting you keep my body, I don't relish having to live as a _you _for the rest of my life."

" Don't kid yourself. I'm not going to let you keep my body." Hermione spat and narrowed her eyes. "God know what the hell you'd do with it." 

" Like there's anything to do." Draco sneered. " I can't even sell it."

" Like hell you will! You can do the whoring in **your** own body." Hermione fumed. How dare he make such a suggestion! 

" Be civil. This is still a classroom." Snapes barked. He was close to laughing, but didn't want them to know that. This was just too damn amusing.

" Sorry professor." Draco [Hermione] mumbled, still scowling. 

" Let's just get this over with." Hermione [Draco] said, crossing her arms. If that was the only way to return back to normal, then they might as well do it and get it done. He quickly uncrossed his arms after he noticed it was pushing up a certain part of her anatomy. _' Too much contact.'_ He winced mentally.

" Fine." Draco [Hermione] said walking up to her body. She didn't want to spend another minute in his body. She wanted to be back in her own body, and if she had to kiss the bugger then so be it. 

" Fine." Hermione [Draco] imitated.

Taking the potion in their hands, they glared at each other. Then without breaking eye contact they downed the potion. With their lips sealed they inched closer to each other. This was all done in a mechanical manner. Then without anymore hesitation, they closed in, opened their mouths and kissed.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.  
  
**

Then the classroom door opened.

~*~*~

Big Cliffy if I do say so myself. O.k. I know I haven't been posting anything in months, but it's starting to be that time of year when preparations for college kicks in and so I'll be spending less and less times writing. Sorry. Anyways I hope you liked this chapter. I've already planned out the next part and so as soon as I have spare time I'll start on it. Thanks for reading

~ Kanami


	14. Starry Eyed UNREVISED

A/N: Argh, just too much to do, and not enough time to do it. If you want a proper disclaimer, read the one in the first chapter.

* * *

Ah, there was that weird, disturbing, tingle skipping up and down her spine again.

_ _

'Actually it would be his spine wouldn't it since I'm in his body.' Hermione shivered at the thought. Somehow it just seems so wrong to be actually thinking like that, even though it was the truth for the moment.

Of course it didn't help her sanity to know that her potions professor was just a few feet away, probably watching with some sort of sadistic amusement. It unnerved her to have someone witnessing such a private moment in her life—not because the supposed "kiss" was special in any _WAY, SHAPE_, or _FORM_, but because she would rather not have anyone witness her shame. And the fact that it was Snape made it just...creepy._ ' Must not think too much about it before I totally creep myself out and become an insane nutcase.' _

This was going to rank #1 in her "Top 10 most embarrassing moments" list, that was for certain. Hermione fought unsuccessfully against the blush that was slowly consuming her. She was burning up with embarrassment, and didn't know when she'd combust because of the heat. She hoped it would be soon so she'd be put out of her misery.

And she'd be doing the world a service too since it would be his body combusting.

Was she a magnet for disaster or something? Maybe bad luck and misfortune was a side bonus to the whole "cursed" package. What did she ever do in her life to deserve such shame? But then, what is shame without guilt?

She was **kissing** him, for Christ sake.

If that wasn't enough to feel guilty about, she was kissing him in the potions classroom of all places. Double blasphemy. It was the ultimate act of betrayal to her house. He was a Slytherin, she a Gryffindor. The two breeds mixed as well as oil with water.

And on a pricklier subject (and a more personal level), he was a pureblood and she, a muggleborn. They were enemies down to the blood, well not so any more, but still, it was that boundary that had made them estranged in the first place.

In the midst of her musings, she felt a weird pulling sensation. It was like she was being pulled backwards and forwards at the same time. She figured that the odd feeling was probably due to her soul separating from his body and getting ready to go back into hers. And there was also that tug at her consciousness that made her guess that the exchange was about to take place.

Or maybe it was just his brain expiring from her overusing it.

She felt his body slump back as she slowly lost consciousness. Luckily for her, there was a desk behind for her to lean on. Not wanting to fall flat on her back (because it would put them in an very compromising position) she concentrated what was left of her coordination into moving his arms back to support the his body and hers since it followed his when she leaned back. The end result was Draco's body sitting on the desk with Hermione's body half leaning, half propped on top. Indecent to say the least, but at least they didn't look like they were about to go at it on top of a school desk.

Could her life get any worse? She just hoped to god that this would be over soon, and no one (except Snape and Malfoy) will be the wiser.

If she had been conscious for a few more seconds, she would have heard the distinctive jingle of the doorknob.

* * *

This was just great. His pride was slowly being beaten to a bloody pulp with a caber. Not only was he forced to kiss himself—well technically it wasn't himself, just his body—but he had to share another kiss with _her_. It wasn't the kissing that disturbed his ire; it was the fact that the _head of his house_ consented yet again to another ludicrous idea that involved the enemy house.

Whether it was a freak accident or not, he was starting to think that the faculty was cooking up some sort of conspiracy behind his back. After all this was the SECOND time that he was dragged into a mess involving Granger, the SECOND time that the head of his house had agreed to such embarrassing plans, and the SECOND time that he _had_ to kiss her.

He didn't know what they were planning—if they were indeed behind all this (which he had little doubt that they were)—or why they were doing it, but since he was now onto their little plot (hypothetical plot), he was going to play it smart and beat them at their own game (whatever it was).

One thought lead to another and soon he began to wonder about whether or not his thoughts would linger behind. After all, he was currently doing his thinking using _her_ brain. He was curious as to whether his thought would stay imprinted in her short-term memory after they switched back to their rightful bodies. _'Now that would be interesting wouldn't it?'_

Ever the curious cat with a few lives to spare, Draco decided to conduct an experiment. Taking a little time to consider what was safe and what was not (he didn't want to die just yet), he finally chose a safe, yet wicked thought that would surely grab her attention. But then again, if his experiment was successful, she'd probably remember most of what he had just thought about...oh well. As they say, life is short so savor every moment you can.

Speaking of time, he wondered when they'd know that the 2 minutes were up. Would Snape inform them when to stop, or would he just sit back and derive sadistic entertainment from their predicament? It rather unnerved him to think that the potions master would more probably chose the latter just to glean every minute of torture he could from the situation.

Snape **_is _**the Head of the Slytherin House after all.

The more he thought about the situation, the more paranoid he became. Deciding to leave the dangerous territories unexplored, lease he stumble upon something that would scar him for life, he opted to try and relax a bit.

It was obvious that there was no 'relaxation' in disaster's vocabulary.

Right about that time, he started to feel some looseness in his muscles (actually her muscles), and when he felt the body in front of him lean back, the body he was in leaned with it. Not having enough motor control (a.k.a. being too lazy) to move away he just left the situation to its demise. Besides, she couldn't fault him for their current position because she was the one to lean back first.

_ _

' This better be over soon I don't know how much more of this humiliation I can stand.' 

Oh, if he only knew.

* * *

Susana's high-pitched wail of outrage was like a foghorn to any and those who heard it. Even Snape had to give an uncharacteristic cringe at the impressive decibel the vocal cord was capable of. Of course, such high-decibel exclamations never cease to attract the attention of gossip-hungry bystanders.

It was like a pack of seagulls on a hapless picnic basket.

Before the blink of an eye, the doorway was packed with wide-eyed gossipmongers, transfixed by the sight that most would have sworn they'd never see in their lifetime. It was going to be the biggest scandal of the year, heck, even the century.

Draco Malfoy kissing Hermione Granger.

There was a shocked silence that followed such a shrill screech, but in a nanosecond the urge to tell overpowered the shock syndrome and whispers were being passed from student to student. The tale traveled from one mouth to another at breakneck speed. It probably would have made a world record if anyone had bothered to time it.

Of course every scandal isn't complete without proof. And in the hierarchy of proof, the next best thing to a live show was a video recording, but since no one had a camcorder on hand, they had to settle for the third best thing. Photograph.

Collin was having a field day with his camera. Being small in stature, he was able to get a front row seat to the spectacle. To say that his index finger was permanently glued to the snap button would be an understatement. Why get just one picture when a mass production of them would be more profitable? The flash from his camera illuminated the room in a continuous manner.

He got about 10 or so good shots in before Snape was able to shut the door, and bar the scene from prying eye. Of course the damage was already done.

It was shutter clicks that awoke him from his ignorant slumber.

He cracked his eyes open but immediately shut them again with a groan. This couldn't be happening. He didn't even need to have his eyes open to guess what was going on in the visible world. One blinding flash was a good enough indicator.

He suddenly wanted to kill something.

Being caught kissing someone you hate often awakens the urge to annihilate all and leave no witnesses. He made an estimate on how many he would have to murder to keep his secret safe. It was already too late to gauge out their eyes.

There was the option of ripping out their vocal cords and cutting off their hands so they can't relay what they know, but it seemed a bit more humane to just kill them and end their suffering. And it would take less effort on his part.

Becoming a psychopathic mass murderer was something to consider. He was already plotting the student bodies' demise when Hermione began to stir.

* * *

Hermione groaned and tried to bring her hand up to rub her temples, but found that she had them trapped between her body and something else. Something warm. A human body to be exact. Snapping her eyes open, she promptly shut them again with a groan.

Now for most girls it would be a dream come true. Like waking up on Christmas morning and finding that pony you've always asked for. I mean, who wouldn't want to wake up in the arms of one of the most drop-dead gorgeous men to ever walk Hogwarts grounds?

_ _

'I did not_ just think he's gorgeous.'_ Hermione groaned. But once that thought came to the forefront, it just wouldn't go away. After a few seconds of internal struggle she grudgingly admitted to herself that he was rather handsome to look at. He was pretty, but that was it. It was just a statement made based on an observation and nothing else. Yeah, that was it. So engrossed in her self debate, she forgot all about the fact that she was still lying on top of him.

_ _

' Why isn't she getting off?' Draco didn't know if he should be annoyed or angered. He figured she'd be raving like a shrew by now, or at least trying to beat him into a bloody pulp. But she was doing the exact opposite, which confused him. And the way she was laying on him was causing many interesting thoughts to frolic through his head. He was a guy after all, and when presented such an opportunity, it was hard to keep thoughts from straying. But the fact that it was Granger causing all that chaos in his mind was just unacceptable. He disliked her, and no matter what his mind and body was thinking of at the moment, Granger was still Granger. Seeing that she wasn't moving on her own, he said in an irritated manner. " Now that you're awake, get off. You're getting heavy."

That did it. She snapped out of her stupor and realized that she was still on top of him. Now she had two options, either blush and be embarrassed, or punch him for the offending remark about her weight.

The latter had more merit.

She shoved off of him hard, using the heel of her hands to pound into his collarbone for her push off. She gave a satisfying smirk when he grimaced and glare at her. _' Serves you right, you git.'_ You would think that for someone constantly surrounded by female fans, he'd learn to have some tact. But no, obviously he was too dense to learn anything valuable.

Draco stood up and rubbed his shoulders where she pounded him. He could hear her mutter curses under her breath, and he felt like letting loose a few expletives of his own. But amusement quickly overcame his anger when he heard her language gain color.

And she was still ignorant of the mob just standing outside the potions classroom. More colors may yet be added to her rainbow language.

He chuckled, and she glared.

"If both of you are quite finished, I would like to start class." Snape's said coolly seeing that the two of them were now back to their usual bantering. That meant they must be alright now.

" Yes sir." Hermione replied, relieved that things were returning to normal.

Draco sighed inwardly, knowing that as soon as the door opens, all hell was going to break loose again.

* * *

O.k., so I'll admit that it took me forever to post the next chapter XP. But honestly, it took me a long time to write. Between juggling homework, and planning for prom and graduation, I had too much on my mind to come up with any great ideas. It feels like it's been forever since I did anything creative.

Another note: people keep asking me about Hermione's heritage and why the story about her ancestors made her sound like she was a pureblood. At this point in time I'm not going to give away part of my plot to answer that question, but I will say that I am well aware of the fact that I left that area a little shady. It will all work out, trust me. Just to make things a bit more clear, Hermione is still a muggleborn, but she' got some of the Lafayette blood running through her veins (it's just diluted). That's all I'm willing to tell right now.

****


	15. Never say never UNREVISED

Kanami: ...Hello?...Is anyone out there...silence... walks out onto the stage and immediately is pelted by an assortment of items (including a keyboard)...

Crowd: BOOOOOO! throws more stuff at Kanami

Kanami: Let me explain! ducks...

Crowd: NO! throws a Microsoft Words box

Kanami: Ow! Please, will you just let me say something before you bury me in writing supplies?...peeks out Alright, I know I haven't posted anything in a while—

Person 1: sarcastically No, really?

Kanami: glares Anyways I've been semi-busy with a job and college related activities, and so I wasn't on the computer as often as I had planned. I started college classes and it just sucked up my time.

Gets an office chair into her face.

Kanami: Ow……

* * *

_  
' God__, this is so dreary.'_ Hermione thought as she blew hot air into her freezing hands. Winter was settling in early this year, judging by the frost clinging to the gnarled branches, glittering under the moonlight like knives, poised and ready. 

__

' Brilliant_ analogy.' _Hermione snorted as she swatted away a viney bush. There was something really dreary, something particularly morbid about the Dark forest that just sucked out all of her optimism. Well, whatever that was left of it after hearing that she would serve detention with Malfoy yet again. Thinking about the assortment of creepy crawlies, hiding in the shadows, ready to drag away hapless students for hibernation food usually dampen the enthusiasm factor. And the fact that she couldn't see where she was going made her just a _little_ bit edgy.

Curse Malfoy for having the only light to their bleak existence (non-figuratively speaking of course). Why had Sprout decided to bless him with the life-saving object was beyond her. While it galled her to have to depend on Malfoy for her current survival, she wasn't going to gallivant through the cold, dark woods with her non-existent night vision.

Speaking of the non-existent things, there was one thing above all she wished did not exist right now.

She groaned faintly as she felt another wave of nausea wash over her. God she felt sick. _' Curse__ this curse. I can just imagine what was going on in Gwendolyn's mind when she cursed us_ ' Alright, I've already made it so that the curse will kill her at 30, Why not motivate her by making her feel like she's dying! So by the time she really dies, she'd be used to the idea of croaking that it wouldn't hurt at all! I'm so brilliant! Mwahahahahaha'._ Yep, that's probably what she was thinking...'_ Hermione swore as she trudged along after Malfoy.

Why oh why was she _so_ blessed?

__

' Because_ my ancestors were bloodline obsessed freaks.'_ She snorted. Really, were pureblooded witches and wizards of high society all bloodline fanatics? She really had to scoff at the irony of how the curse is cured. To maintain the bloodline, the blood of her one true love must counter the curse. Gwendolyn really outdid herself.

" Will you hurry up Granger? This isn't a stroll through the park." Malfoy's voice snapped her out of her musings.

" Will you slow down!" Hermione stumbled on a rock littered ground

"Hm." Was all that Draco had bothered to say.

Ever since that stupid switching-body incident, they'd become like this. They didn't really argue any more. And that really pitched everything off kilter. The barbs that they normally threw at each other lost its luster. Maybe the 2 years spent apart from each other had made them grow up a bit. Having not insulted her in the span of 2 years made the task lose it glamour. It was fresh and fun for a while, but the luster was rusting at an incredibly fast pace.

Or maybe it was because people kept mistaking it for flirting.

It really annoyed him that whenever he looked at her, talked to her, or even walk past her, someone always has some smart-ass remark to make. Which usually resulted in him shoving the stupid sap hard into the wall as he passed.

He didn't hate her as much as he used to. He wouldn't go as far as saying that he liked her, but he would admit (only to himself) that he found her company tolerable. Sure he didn't like her during the first 4 years of their schooling. Her "know-it-all" attitude grated on his nerves like nails on a chalkboard. He was a Malfoy, second to no one. And plus the fact that she was a Gryffindor AND a friend of Potters, made it just too much to pass up.

There was so much amusement to be had on her behalf, and he did enjoy making her lose her temper. All in all he still disliked her, but he didn't hate her.

This was just great, now he was making up excuses for not hating her. He should really get his head checked. He held the lamp higher to expand the light radius so that he could see just more then a mere foot in front of him. The task appointed to them by Sprout for their detention was relatively easy and took them no time to gather all the plants. Even though he would rather swallow a live frog then admit it to anyone, he found the forest to be rather creepy, and the less time he spent in it would benefit his sanity. He for one wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible.

__

'That_ was a rather short conversation. Not that I'm complaining...'_ Hermione thought. Ever since the switching body incident, things had never really gotten back to the way they were, not to mention the whole school wouldn't leave the issue alone.

It could have something to do with the pictures being passed around.

The work of one picture-freak Gryffindor was circulating amongst masses. It probably wasn't Colin's intention for _all_ of the photos to get out, or so the Gryffindor in Hermione would have liked to believe, but being the victim of the "unintentional" slip she wondered how many galleons he got for them.

He was going to die slowly and painfully.

Normally, Hermione was against such violence on her own housemates, believing that the energy could be better invested in strategizing against the Slytherins. But for Colin she was willing to sacrifice such values to beat him to an unidentifiable pulp and hang his mangled carcass out to dry...

__

'That's it. The hypothesis that this forest sucks out optimism is now a theory no longer, it's a law.' Hermione retrained the urge to cackle madly just because. The past week had been a trial of patience and endurance. People just wouldn't leave her alone, especially Malfoy's female fan club.

Malfoy had it easy compared to her. He was badgered by stupid people just like her, but his ability to cast a mean _I'll-kill-you-if-you-dare-talk-to-me_ glare really helped diminish the pests. All he had to do was direct that at them and they'd scatter like mice. Unlike her. No one found the head girl much of a threat when she was turning multiple shades of red.

Hermione did her best to ignore the ribbing, and for the most part it worked. People were much easier to ignore once she slapped a silence charm on them. That usually made them scuttle away pretty fast.

But the subconscious mind was another thing altogether. She had tried everything short of removing her brain to purge him from her thoughts. But he stayed in there like a bug on flypaper. It really was hard to forget the man who had stolen her first 2 kisses.

__

' Stop_ thinking about it!' _Hermione groaned.

**__**

' Well**_ if you fall for him, then that'll solve all your problems._****'**

Hermione froze. What in Merlin's name made her think that?

**__**

'You**_ obviously have a growing fancy for him. And I must say that he is rather handsome for one so young.'_**

Oh God. Just a few weeks ago she had regarded Draco Malfoy as an annoying git bent on tormenting her for the rest of her schooling days. What had happened to change her perspective?

**__**

' Must**_ I outline it for you. The man KISSED you, as in K-I-S-S-E-D! TWICE I might add.'_**

__

'So_ what?' _

**__**

' Second**_ time is a charm.'_**

__

' That's_ BS.'_

**__**

' BS**_! The man devirginized your lips!'_**

__

' It_ was just a kiss. Not like I lost my virginity to him.'_

'He's the first to see you naked practically! Give it a few more weeks and he could be another first for you!'

__

' Nope_, never gonna happen.'_ Hermione denied venomously.

'Never say never my dear.'

__

' I'm_ not listening, I'm not listening.' _Hermione started to sing, so she'd drown out her thoughts. Although she wasn't singing in full gusto (just loud enough for herself to hear) breaking out into song while trudging through a creepy forest does seem to hold a little of that Disney quality to it.

In her attempt to drown herself out, she didn't look where she was stepping and her foot got stuck between some rocks. She went crashing to the forest floor with a yelp.

Draco stopped and turned quickly towards the direction of Hermione's scream, wand in hand, ready to blast whatever monster was there. They may not be the best of chums, but unlike some, he was above such tactics as leaving a schoolmate to the whims of vicious forest creatures. But the lamplight clarified the situation. He let out a weary sigh as he surveyed her undignified position on the forest floor. It seems that he was worried for naught.

" Ow." Hermione moaned, gingerly touched her bruised tailbone, assessing the damage. Rocks weren't the best cushions, as her now shattered tailbone could attest. Well, it felt like it was shattered anyways judging by the numb feeling spreading down her lower back and legs. She tried to stand up, but failed miserably and landed on her ankle again. "AHHHHHHH!"

" Geez Granger, I don't think all the evil forest creatures heard you." Draco hissed, but regretted it the moment those words slipped past his lips. Damn it, she looked like she was going to start crying and he didn't want to deal with a crying woman.

* * *

No compassion. No compassion at all. 

She would have hurled a rock at the insufferable jerk, if not for the shimmery tears obstructing her view. And there was also the fact that she may possibly suffer retribution without the ability to defend herself if the assassination attempt failed.

Hermione forced her wince into a frown as she tried to get to her feet, intending on ignoring the horrible throbbing in her left ankle. No need for him to know she was in so much pain. Pride was an issue here, and she wasn't going to play the damsel in distress just so that prince charming over there could trample her with his horse.

**__**

' You**_ think he's charming!'_**

__

' Ah_ bugger, I don't have the time to deal with you. Just piss off.'_

**__**

' Touché**_.'_**Hermione's conscience grumbled

__

'Probably sprained my ankle.'She thought as she slumped back down into the sitting position with her injured leg propped on a rock. That would explain her lack of coordination. She could try and perform a healing charm on it, but since she wasn't a medi-witch, nor did she know the extent of the damage, she didn't want to cast the wrong charm and permanently disfigure herself. She wasn't being vain; she just didn't want to be an invalid for the rest of her life.

Draco waited impatiently as he watched her fumbling attempts to stand up. Something must be wrong with. Knowing her, she wouldn't be one to act the damsel in distress to gain his attention; she had too much pride for that. So for her to be struggling to do something so simple, there must be something wrong.

" Need help?" Draco asked, then cursed his male-chivalry gene. He hadn't really meant to ask her, but it just sorta slipped out. She wasn't making any progress on her own and he just wanted to leave the forsaken forest ASAP, so what was wrong with helping her out so he could go back and get some sleep?

Hermione paused only slightly. Well that was unexpected. She looked at him wearily not knowing if he was sincerely offering or was he just playing her. Thinking a bit too deeply, she gave a startled yelp when she felt an arm under her knees and one behind her back lifting her off the ground.

"What are you doing?" Hermione threw her arms around his neck out of reflex.

"What does it look like Granger?" Draco smirked as he jostled her in his arms so that he could hold the lantern. "You can't walk, and I'm not going to wait forever for you to hobble back to the school."

Hermione just rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the fact that he had just done something nice for her.

* * *

A/N: Falling on your tailbone does hurt like the devil. I can attest to that. Or maybe I'm just a wimp when it comes to pain :P. Anyways I hope I didn't over dramatize it. 


	16. Finer Things in Life UNREVISED

AN: It's been a long year. I'm sorry I haven't updated in like forever. I hope to be back in writing action again after having a really hard year in school.

Enjoy

* * *

She was a woman with a mission.

Ginny hummed a cheerful little tune, as she bounced up the winding staircase. It was a lovely Saturday for mischief, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, no Slytherin in sight to ruin her day, what more encouragement did she need?

She touched the object she had stowed away in her robe pocket. It was her sacred duty to accomplish the task entrusted to her by her seniors and those who dare to interfere shall be snuffed like a candle. Or at least tossed into a broom closet with Susan Lecher without a wand and duct tape. Ginny couldn't keep the grin off her face as she arrived at her destination. She gave the door two firm raps.

"Who is it?" Hermione's muffled voice traveled through the door.

"Ginny."

"Come on in, the door isn't locked."

Nothing prepared Ginny for the disaster she walked into.

Papers and books were everywhere! And when she said everywhere, she meant **_everywhere_**. Parchments and scrolls had conquered the ornate desk, smothering the beautiful mahogany wood. They even manage to commandeer a good part of the bed, sharing the property with multiple volumes of _Wizarding__World History_ books. Then there was the floor, which sustained heavier assault. Piles of books covered most of the floor; some stacked on top of small boxes—probably filled with books too. Overall the room was an extremely hazardous zone to the average laymen.

"What did you do Hermione! Ransacked the Library! Made away with all the books in Florish and Blotts? Cleaned out the National Archives?" Ginny exclaimed as she entered the room.

"Like they would let me." Hermione's voice traveled from somewhere near the vicinity of the closet.

Rolling her eyes at the comment, Ginny gingerly sidestepped a 2-foot tall stack of books lying near the door. The whole room was like a miniature obstacle course.

"So what brings you here to my humble abode?" Hermione asked, stacking more books on top of a precarious tower of dusty tomes.

"Just wanted to check out your place. And what with all these papers and books everywhere?" Ginny sidestepped a small avalanche of transfiguration books.

"I'm looking for a paper I wrote a while back and thought I might as well reorganize my collection. I asked mum to send me some of my home collections that I thought might be useful later on." Hermione got up and dusted herself.

"It's a bloody mess."

"You don't say." Hermione's remarked was greeted with an unladylike snort. Holding quite a few volumes of _Understanding the Physics of Magic_ in her arms, she made her way to the bookshelf, preparing for the fun that was categorizing.

Ginny quirked an eyebrow when she saw what was in her friend's arms. '_Physics of magic? Doesn't magic defy the laws of physics?' _As tempting as it was to ask Hermione about the rather odd subject, she decided to save it for later. She had a mission to accomplish after all. Making her way through the hap hazardous mess she asked, "Hey, Hermione, I've heard that the Heads get a really high class bathroom, mind if I take a gander?"

"Go ahead." Hermione replied while setting her books on the shelf in an orderly fashion.

* * *

As soon as Ginny entered the spacious bathroom, she gave a low whistle. " Wow Hermione, you get this bathroom all to yourself?" Ginny asked amazed by the luxury and size of the bathroom. 

"Yeah." Hermione replied without skipping a beat. There was no way she was going to tell anyone, willingly, that she shared the grand bathroom with the one and only, annoying Slytherin Head Boy.

It was a damn nice bathroom. Ginny marveled at the simplistic beauty of the lavatory. It was a marvelous piece of art really.

The bathtub was like a small ship amidst a sea of pristine tiles, lined with smooth white marble plates the color of seafoam. The walls were a delicate cream color with a one tile wide ring of black and red tiles patterned in an alternating style going around the room.

Deciding to awe at the bathroom later, Ginny got down to business. Making sure that Hermione was preoccupied, she headed to the shower stall and opened the glass door and peaked inside. '_Geez even the shower is huge'_. Ginny glanced along the wall and spotted her target next to the rose-scented body wash. '_Hm, that's peculiar' _Ginny noted the extra bottles lying separately on the farther corner of the shelf.

Seizing the opportunity, she quickly grabbed the bottle in her pocket and switched it with the target. Pocketing the switched bottle in her robes she left the stall and walked out of the bathroom. "So Hermione, wanna come to Hogsmeade with us this afternoon?"

"Sure, are we doing anything in particular?" Hermione maneuvered around a stack of books.

"Naw, just a random shopping excursion." Ginny's grin seemed a little evil for some reason...Maybe she was just being paranoid.

" Just you and me, or are there other people coming along?" Hermione asked in what she hoped was an impassive tone. She didn't want to sound as if she was too curious, but if they were heading out in pairs she would prefer not to tag along as the extra wheel.

Ginny knew what Hermione was getting at. Having known the girl for many years it would have been hard to miss. "Just me, Lavender, Parvati and Padma. It'll be a girl's only outing."

"Ah, so when are we heading out?" Hermione nodded as she picked up another stack of books and headed over to the bookshelf.

"Around 2-ish. We'll meet in the commons. Anyways I just came by to tell you that, I've got something to do so I'll see you later." Ginny made her way across the forest of books and made her escape.

'_Mission__Accomplished_'.

* * *

"Ginny, why are we _here _of all places?" Hermione looked somewhat horrified as she was literally dragged into the store. 

"Just relax, it's not everyday that this place has such incredible sales going on." Ginny grinned as she dragged a reluctant Hermione though the aisles.

"I can tell." Hermione replied dryly as she was towed unceremoniously though the crowd.

"You really need to have more appreciations for the finer things in life." Lavender remarked as she kept pace with Ginny.

"Well this is just a little too _fine_ for me." Hermione gestured with her hand at the lurid items displayed on the racks.

"Ah come on Mione, live a little. Besides it would be a shame for you continue with the rest of your life without having at least a few of these," Parvati held up a particularly interesting looking piece " in your drawers."

"I've lived without them so far." Hermione grimace, wondering how anyone would find that…that…_thing_ comfortable. For once she had no one to blame but herself. She should have learned long ago that anytime the redhead conjures up an activity involving females only, things like this would happen.

"Well maybe not something this daring," Parvati chuckled as she placed the item back on the shelf, but grabbed a few less intense looking ones and shoved them at Hermione. "But I'm sure some of these will do you good."

Hermione could only stare at the scrap of lace lying in her hand with an expression most would describe as horror. "This covers practically nothing!"

"Hermione, Herimione," Lavender gave her friend an amused look, " the point of lingerie _is_ to make things more enticing. And covering practically nothing is sexy."

"Which is why I don't need any of this. I don't have the time--" Hermione tried to explain.

"There's always time for bra shopping!" Padma admonished while brandishing a silk bra.

"That's not what I meant." Hermione groaned, knowing that a headache will soon be taking up residence. " Besides, what does lingerie have to do with love? Isn't it more for seducing anyways?"

"Seducing the one you love, of course." Ginny said in an amused manner. "But it's not just about finding that one prey and going after it was seductive vengeance, its also just about making yourself pretty for no apparent reason but just because you want to."

"No one is going to see that underneath your robes unless you flash them." Hermione was still not buying it.

"No one has to see it for you to feel sexy ya know." Parvati grinned. "Just think of it as you knowing something they don't. Besides, doesn't it make you slightly gleeful to be a little adventurous without having to dress like a whore to do it?"

Hermione couldn't fault that logic, "Still I would think that comfort should be a factor in there somewhere, and having a string wedged between you arse does not seem to be comfortable to me."

"To each their own." Padma shrugged as she picked out a few items and headed towards the changing room.

"Come on Hermione, just stop thinking too hard and enjoy life." Ginny smiled at her bemused friend. "Or rather think of this as another lesson in life."

'_Another lesson in life huh?_' Hermione let a small smile drift across her lips. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad experience. After all, being a little adventurous does seem to be rather enticing. And so with that bit of advice, Hermione set off to begin her first adventure in the land of lingerie, better known as _Victoria's Secret._

* * *

'_I can't believe I survived that._' Hermione flopped down on to her bed tiredly and stared at the ceiling, reflecting on what she had just witnessed firsthand—the furious chaos of women shopping of underwear. Now she understood why the Greeks believed that Deity of Discord was a woman. The only thing that changed from then till now was the form of the golden apple. In the current age, the golden apple was disguised as a "Clearance!" or "Sale!" signs among other things (such as cheesecake). In all her years of living she had never seen such cunning tactics as the ones she witnessed between two women fighting over a scrap of lace.

While men tend to settle their differences with fists and "manly" sports, women have diverged to using a different, more verbal approach. Having fist fights would take too much effort, not to mention ruin the hours of work spent on make-up and hair. But it was brutal nonetheless, and still down right scary to be caught amidst so many hostile individuals.

She would never have thought that going underwear shopping would be such a hazardous thing. Still she was quite proud of herself for toughing it out, after all, it would have been a waste of an opportunity since it was highly unlikely that she would ever go back to that store of her own free will. It wasn't that she didn't have fun, there was quite a bit of fun to be had just watching drama unfold everywhere, but since the store only sold lingerie and all at prices that were a little too high even when on sale, Hermione figured that going back there would not be good for her purse. Besides, she didn't see many things she would have like to buy anyways.

S  
he shot a glanced at the clock, '_5:30 huh, well I'll take a quick shower before dinner'_ and with that thought in mind, Hermione pushed herself off the bed and headed for the bathroom. After letting the water warm up to the temperature she deemed perfect, Hermione stepped inside. The warm water felt like heaven on her tired body. Letting the water run through her hair, she reached for her favorite Herbal Essence shampoo and popped the lid…

"KYAH!"

Hermione dropped the bottle with a loud clang as she pasted herself against the wall of shower stall, eyes wide and arms wrapped around her heaving chest while the warm spray of water continued to beat down on her body. With her heart still hammering, she stared at the _things_ that now occupying the same shower space. It was…there was just no word for it. In all her years being a user of Herbal Essence shampoo…NEVER once, had those _things _ever popped out. Not even from the deluxe-sized bottles. Those _things _did not pop out the last night when she used her beloved shampoo, so there could only be one reason; one solid reason why she was now sharing a shower with 2 buff-looking and rather realistic male mannequins in speedos.

There will be bloodshed.

With thoughts of murder in her mind, Hermione reached around the mannequins to turn off the water, her shower now ruined. Even in her angered state, habit won out and she reached for the now half empty shampoo bottle by to her feet—she never liked leaving her bathroom a mess—and capped it. She was surprised to find that the mannequins disappeared when the cap was closed. Well that was convenient. She internally debated on whether she could finish her shower or not—after all she would only have to deal with the mannequins for a few seconds, but it was just too freaky to have to deal with 2 pretty realistic mannequins be in the shower with her even for a few seconds. Finally she decided that feeling clean outweighed the squick factor and so Hermione turned the water back on and then closed her eyes, opened the bottle, squeezed out a handful of shampoo before quickly closing it and then opening her eyes again. Lathering the shampoo in her hair, Hermione slowly plotted the demise of her red-haired friend, and the 2 others she was sure had been in on the concoction of tampering with her beloved hair product.

* * *

A/N: The Victoria Secret incident somewhat mirrored my own first experience going into a store like that XD at age 18 (without the women fighting each other part). I though it'd be brilliant to put some of my own experiences in my fic :P Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this. I'll try to be more creative on my next chapter. I don't exactly know what time they have dinner, so I kinda just threw out a time that seemed reasonable. 


End file.
